


Flowering Recovery: Suzuran

by MinawaKitten



Series: The Fool With Stars in Her Eyes [6]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Spoilers, basically a killing game BUT WITH MAGIC TOO, honestly everyone is gay, i have too much power, magic fantasy + demons, shit gets crazy w magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-02-18 03:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 248,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13091466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinawaKitten/pseuds/MinawaKitten
Summary: What was supposed to be a simple mission has turned out to be something way more than I ever could have hoped it would be.My failure, my inability, the very sins of my past have resurfaced to haunt me. To make that worse, my failures is the direct cause to why all these young adults were suffering in a killing game. If I paid better attention years ago -- if I was aware of the suffering my friends and classmates were enduring. If I was aware of what was going on at the school -- I could have prevented that incident.----Chapter One : COMPLETEChapter Two : COMPLETEChapter Three: (Un)Ordinary Days {10}Updates Bi-Monthly on Late Thursday or Early Friday due to Work----Lily of the Valley/Suzuran; Promise of Happiness





	1. {01} (Un)Ordinary Days {01}

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**My Class Trial, Our Class Trial**

**(Un)Ordinary Days**

 

* * *

 

It will be an easy job he said.

In and out.

 Simple as that.

Jesus Christ, this is complete bullshit.

Well, it was my own fault for not properly evaluating the environment and failing to see a fucking six foot and six inches tall guy. How the hell could I even miss someone that tall? That’s taller than my own father for Christ sake. Also there was a fucking guy that was not even four feet tall that moved with unpredictable speed.

I should have expected this kind of shit when returning to this world after six long years of departure. The people of this world were skilled in many aspects and incredibly talented in unique ways.

 

* * *

  **June 20th; Day 01**

* * *

 

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-Z30WlBXE)

“Do we have to have her hang from the beam upside down?” A girl with light blonde hair, decorated with silver music note shaped hairpins, questions. From what I could see, she was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt under a light purple ribbed-hem sweater and a brownish-red tie. In addition, she was wearing purple skirt adorned with a black music staves and notes pattern, purple stockings reaching below her knees and beige shoes.

Her purple eyes darted around with concern and her fingers played with her white backpack. Some people purposely avoided eye contact with her, but one girl in particular did meet her gaze.

It was a girl with sharp green eyes with a beauty mark under the left side of her mouth and had long black hair tied in two pigtails -- she strangely had a large sum of accessories in her hair, long white ribbons, a large green bow with a white floral pattern and a star-shaped accessory on the left a purple headband --  and a pink choker with a yellow bell around her neck. She was wearing a blue school uniform top that stops above her bellybutton, with a frilly two layered blue skirt, a pair of knee length white socks with a blue stripe and a pair of zouris.

“Tenko agrees! It’s too cruel for you degenerate males to treat her like this!”

Degenerates?

That's kinda harsh.

“Yeah, she isn’t struggling or cursing us out.” A young man with a tanned complexion and spiky dark purple hair points out. “She isnt doing anything really. . . just hanging there.” He dressed in layers for some reason -- a white sleeveless shirt with a face that resembled red kabuki theater makeup, on top of that he was wearing an unbuttoned white long sleeved dress shirt with a breast pocket. And, over all of that, was a long, purple overcoat with a galaxy design inside it. Amusingly, he didn't wear it correctly, instead, he was wearing the left sleeve but draped it over his right shoulder. He was wearing a pair of purple pants that matched his coat, which was rolled up over his ankles, and a pair of gray slippers with a galaxy pattern.

Strangely, I found myself mesmerized by his warm lilac eyes. The way he looked up to me and grinned, I could tell he was. . . genuine in his words. He doesn't even know me and yet, he trusts me. Ah. I was once like that. . . How strange it is to see someone as open as that.

“She can easily be biding her time.” A young woman with deadly red eyes cuts in. She had dark long brown hair tied into pigtails with two red scrunchies and long strands that framed her face.  She was wearing a scarlet-colored sailor fuku accompanied with a pair of thigh-high socks of the same color and brown ankle boots. The collar of her fuku was a dark green color that matched the plaid skirt and a white ribbon.

She had a number of accessories, including a black bracelet, small, circular earrings, a white hairpin in the shape of the infinity symbol on the right side of her head and a flower pin on her right shoulder.

“Don't be like that Harukawa! She’s got stars in her eyes! She’s good!” The girl referred to as Harukawa gave him a pointed look, as if to question his intelligence to trust someone based on what their eyes looked like. . . I, on the other hand, managed to toe off one of the mary janes on my feet and kicked it his way.

I unfortunately missed.

It was most likely not the best move as many of teens below me tenses up and looked with apprehension. Or anticipation. It’s getting hard to tell with the blood rushing to my head.

“Don't say such embarrassing things.” I muttered, glancing away as I tried to force the blush on my face away.

“Holy shit, jumbo tits is fucking tsundere!” Some blonde shouted. She definitely had a pretty face -- big blue-gray eyes -- long wavy light blonde hair with a pink overtone, two strands of hair at the top of her head like bunny ears, and a pair of brown goggles were on her head. . .  but what she was wearing would most certainly be in the category of what I would define as raunchy.

She was wearing a pink fuku but it and the collar was cut in an extreme way. The pink skirt was shorter than regulation and the white collar did a big enough dip in the uniform to reveal . . .a huge sum of her chest. The pale blue bow was kinda cute though.

She wore a pair of black fingerless gloves with metal studs and black boots with gold buttons and buckles. She was wearing a black leather, or satin?, garter belt with gold clips that attached her to her white overknee socks. She wore a black choker collar, and two smaller black collars, around her neck and on her backside was a brown backpack.

“Please shut up. I know my chest is huge and it sucks. I have enough back problems already, they really don't need to contribute to it.” I snap. The girl immediately shrivels up, playing with her hair nervously, which . . . looked strangely cute.

Goddamn my gay ass.

“Huh. . . I wonder what you do?” The owner of this voice looked like a child, young and innocent, but his voice was most certainly not. It wasn't exactly malicious but, it wasn't kind. He had this twinkle in his dark purple eyes that screamed trouble. . . or something like that. There was certainly conflicting emotions in his eyes, the reflection of his soul.

Still, he was a very short pale young man with short, wavy purple hair. . . but his clothes were a very concerning choice. It almost looked like he was wearing a white straitjacket, which was apparently ripped at the hem, and covered in multicolored buttons running down the middle of his top. Just like the sleeves of his shirt, a straps attached was wrapped around his pants legs. He also wearing a pair of black and purple slip flats and a checkered patterned scarf around his neck.

“It’s complicated.” I sigh. “Look, we can talk but doing this while I’m upside down is no good for anyone.”

“She is correct.” The boy who was clearly a robot speaks up. “She may possibly get brain damage if she remains hanging.” He was. . . very cute and it wasn't his synthetic voice that gave away what he was, it was his body. His body was made up of a black metal that resembled armor plating. A number of glowing spots lit up his body -- two on his chest, his stomach and one on each of his wrists -- and at his waist, which resembles a belt, were a glowing red spot on the each side of his front.

Around his neck was a large metallic collar with a screen installed into it. It seemed to exist in order to protect his neck, which looked a bit delicate compared to the rest of his body. Not so strangely, he had headphone-shaped objects instead of ears, and the seemed to have capabilities to show scrolling text as well.

He didn't exactly have skin, but his face was very pale, and his platinum blonde hair was styled in an impossibly spiky fashion with a very large ahoge sticking from the top. His blue eyes were very beautiful but notably mechanical and thick black lines were around and below them.

“What a shame. . .” The boy in white mutters. I shoot him a look but he doesn't seem to notice it nor anyone else’s for that matter.

“I think. . . it’s better we let her down and talk to her.” A boy in a black genkan softly speaks up. All eyes turn to him and he flushes, trying to hide behind the bill of his black hat. Why. . . Why do I find that to be cute? Jesus. What a mess. From what I could tell, he had a rather pale complexion but not much else about his face.

“Saihara-kun is right.” The blonde musical girl beams. “Yes, her appearance was very strange, but it would be better to talk to her instead of assuming she’s going to hurt us.”

“This is pointless.” Harukawa grunts. She simply turns away and walks out of the gym with brisk steps. A few others follows after her, uncertain about wanting to let an unknown woman go or not really in the mood to deal with it. The blonde musician talks to those who remain, whispering among them and ultimately more of them leave until five remain in the room. She then turns to the impressively tall and tanned young man who was holding the end of the rope that kept me suspended in the air.

[ **\- Becoming Friends -**   ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

I don't know what it was about him, but my heart was instantly captivated. Maybe it was, despite how masculine his face was, he had this softness to him. His red eyes, framed with round rimmed glasses, were warm and inviting and his long wild dark green hair looked rather cute in an odd way.

He was rather muscular in addition to his incredible height, and yet it was contained with a brown suit with matching dress pants and around his neck was an earthy green tie. Surprisingly, he had no shoes. Over his shoulder, he carried a bug terrarium with a strap that was the same color as his tie.

Carefully, he lowered me back to the floor by releasing the rope little by little until I was lowered into someone’s arms. Surprisingly, it was the arms of the space guy. He was beaming brightly, his eyes shimmering as he cradled my body to his chest.

“The name is **Kaito Momota** , The Luminary of the Stars! And **Super High School Level Astronaut**.” He proudly announced. He then kneeled down, carefully placing my body on the floor and got to work unraveling the rope that bound me.

 As he did so, the tall wild like male approached me with my mary jane in hand. He kneels down and carefully slid it back onto my foot as if he was a prince, sliding Cinderella's slipper onto her feet. He smiled, looking proud of himself.

“Um, Gonta’s name is **Gonta Gokuhara**! Gonta’s talent is **Super High School Level Entomologist**. Gonta is pleased to meet you, miss. . .?” He paused, suddenly at a loss.

“Yuuki.” I provide for him. “ **Yuuki Kazehaya**. I am **Super High School Level Preacher**.” Now free from the rope, Gonta takes my smaller hand into his own, pulling me up to my feet in a single motion. He then brings my hand to his lips, lightly kissing it. My cheeks flush a bright red hue.

“Gonta is delighted to meet Kazehaya-san!” I laugh just a little. I take my hand back, gathering my skirt into my hands and curtsy.

“What a gentleman. The pleasure is mine.” Gonta looks a bit surprised by my words. His cheeks flush and he looks a tad bashful. Despite his towering appearance, he really is cute.

“Hi there!” The blonde musical beams, clasping her hands together. “I’m **Kaede Akamatsu**! I am **Super High School Level Pianist**!” She motions to the boy dressed in black, who is still shyly hiding behind his hat. “This is Saihara-kun!” The boy suddenly flinches and his face flushes before he awkwardly glances to the side.

“S- **Shuuichi Saihara**.” He softly mumbled, fiddling with the brim of his hat. “I. . . ah, I’m **Super High School Level Detective**. . .”

“Geez! She can't hear you Saihara-chan!” The short boy in white frowns.

“H-Huh?” Shuuichi gasps.

“No, no,” I sigh, saving the poor boy from being put on the spot. “I heard him just fine. Shuuichi is a nice name!” Only after I said that I realized I made a mistake. After all my years in Japan, you would think I have learned. I clearly have not and the poor boy was red as a tomato now.

“Oh my god.” I whisper, placing my face in my hands.

“Ooooh. Scandalous!”

“I’m Greek.” I grind out. “I-I just forget first name basis rules sometimes.”  

 “Greek, huh?” He hums. He then looks to his hand, looking rather bored. “I guess that explains why you’re so rowdy. . .” If the movie, _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_ was anything to go by -- since the writer and lead actress, if I recall right, is Greek -- then he would be correct about that. I. . . I wouldn't honestly know, since I am actually an American.

As long as I wore this veil, I would maintain the appearance of ‘Yuuki Kazehaya’. . . A student of mine that deserved more than what she was given.

“I admit,” I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. “I didn’t make the best entry but I only acted in self defense.” He stares at me. It’s a very long and awkward passing of time before he breaks out into a giggle.

“I’m **Kokichi Ouma** , **Super High School Level Supreme Leader**!” He introduces himself with a seemingly innocent grin on his face.

“What.” I blankly reply, completely baffled by such a title. What the hell did a supreme leader do exactly? And how the hell is he the leader of one at his age? This kid couldn't be real. . . but the expressions on  everyone’s faces were normal. Which could only mean this kid wasn’t lying. .  .

“I run an organization with over ten thousand members!” Under my veil, I squint my eyes. Okay. That had to be a lie. There’s no way this one kid could manage an entire organization with that many people on his own. I could believe a couple hundred, but ten thousand is just. . . too many.

“Sounds fake but okay.” The grin on his face only grows wider. As if he’s amused to be called a liar. . .

“Nishinishi! That’s because I’m a liar!”

And apparently lying is some packaged deal with being a supreme leader. I supposed it made sense to some extent. You had to probably lie a bit to keep such a huge organization running and keep it out of public eye. But why would Kaede not shoo this guy off with the others. . .?

And with a moment of thought, the rather obvious answer came to me.

“Oh, I get it. He’s a lie detector.”

“Ah, yes, something like that.” Shuuichi gives me an awkward smile, vaguely motioning to Ouma. “Ouma-kun is rather skilled at finding lies.”

“A preacher, huh?” Ouma questions with a hum, cutting Shuuichi off before he could begin his array of questions.  I immediately feel pity for Shuuichi. He’s clearly very nervous and has doubts in his skills. . . and having Ouma cut him off in an interview that is clearly his responsibility is kinda a kick to the nads. . .

Still. . . A more accurate term for what my ‘talent’ is would be ‘ **Sage** ’ but preacher looked . . . normal on paper. Especially to non-magical beings. Bringing up _that_ aspect of my life would only complicate things and make them far more weary of me.

“Yes. I preach of hope and do what I can to bring hope to those in need.” It wasn’t the full truth but wasn’t an entire lie either. It would be enough to slip past his radar hopefully.

 “That sounds very busy.”

“That would be correct.” I nod. “However, I make sure to return home to my beloved family know I love them.” Out of the corner of my eye I note that Shuuichi is silently glancing over me. He’s not leering or being a pervert about it, simply analytical.

“You’re. . .married, correct?” Shuuichi inquires

“Yes, to many individuals. I’ve adopted a polyandry lifestyle. I love each and every one of my lovers for being themselves. We’re all very open, accepting and loving people! We all pitch in raising our children and supporting each other through hard times!” I smile, thinking of all the individuals that make up my precious family. They were all wonderful people that have done their best to become better people by overcoming their past or problems that afflicted them in the past.

“I see,” Shuuichi mumbles softly, clearly lost in thought at the moment. “It didn’t quite make sense for a preacher to carry as much jewelry as you do. . . but given you have many spouses that’s another story. Perhaps they’re all keepsakes from them. . . ?” The way he brought his hand to his mouth when he was in thought was rather cute in my opinion. What the hell. Why are all these people so cute or good looking?

“Kids. . . How many do you have?!” Kaito questions with a shout. Ouma breaks out into a giggle but the others look at Kaito with shock. Kaede sharply whispers his name, giving him a light smack on his arm. Gonta babbles, telling him it’s inappropriate to ask something like that.

“Ah. . . Just five.” I answer with an awkward smile as I rub the back of my neck. “I . . . recently gave birth to a pair of twins. . .”

“Have you killed a man?” Ouma questions, getting rather close and personal. His eyes didn’t have the usual goofy charm but a rather serious fire.

. . . I think, if it wasn't for the fact I took a glance around the buildings before being captured, I would have found such a question to be . . . perhaps odd. This place, wherever it was, is in poor condition. The windows were sealed close with long lengths of red barbwire and both hallways and rooms were carpeted grass and plants that managed to grow in such a bizarre environment. I have doubts that any of them are here of their free will.

Possibly, they are trapped here or in hiding. . . the latter makes more sense given how panicked and defensive they were when I first appeared.

“Does self-defense count?” I question with a sigh as I crossed my arms. “Or being enlisted in war?” I wouldn't necessarily say my hands are bloody, but they certainly are not clean. . . It will probably makes me lose points with others but there was no point in hiding that aspect of myself.

“Huh?! War?” Kaede gasps. Nervous glances are exchanged by the teens surrounding me. . . but Ouma simply stares at me, trying to tell if my words were genuine or not. Still. . . the fact these teens were _so_ surprised by the mention of war did not leave me with a good feeling. Something was off about them. . . but what? I wasn’t getting any bad vibes from them.

“I travel a lot and my bleeding heart always reaches out to help those in need and stands up to injustice. It unfortunately gets me tangled up in an insane amount of problems.

“My, you sound. . . very busy.” Kaede mumbles, clearly uncomfortable about the concept of war.

“Yeah. There is no calmness in my life. Only internal screaming, anxiety and panicking.” I laugh, trying to change the subject, with a thoughtful look on my face. “Well, there is calmness when I am with those I love.” Bashfully, I add: And falling in love with someone wonderful.

I cough, trying to clear my head of the concept of being infatuated with any of the young adults around. It would be a pointless effort. As soon as I got clearance and found what I needed, I would be gone and along with my departure, so would any memories of me existing here, no matter how brief it would last.

“You all mentioned explaining things,” I muse out loud. “I believe I’ve supplied enough. Or at least as much personally information I’m willing to tell complete strangers. . . I think it’s fair if I get a basic understanding of what is going on here.”

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

The change to the cheerful atmosphere is instantaneous. It becomes heavy with tension and apprehension. No one can look me in the eye anymore, none other than Ouma who’s grinning with a frightening twinkle in his eyes. At that moment, I realized these were not young adults in hiding. They’re trapped like rats and clearly in fear about something. . .

“Something bad is happening. . . isn’t it?” I inquire slowly.

“It’s that damn bear’s fault!” Kaito shouts, slamming his fists together.

For a moment, it feels as if the world had froze all around me.

. . . What. . .

. . .What did he say?

Everyone stares at me with concern as my skin loses color and I . . . I can feel my body begins to tremble as a thousand memories of a time six years ago come back at full force. A failure. A complete and utter failure to prevent this World from falling apart and becoming consumed with **d** **e** **spair**. Having to run away to leave my friends behind as they suffered.

Weak.

Cowardly.

Pathetic.

I look at my hand with disbelief. I'm really shaking. It’s suddenly becoming hard to breath as I’m forced to face my sins of past. It’s so clear what this bear wants. **The Tragedy of Hope’s Peak Academy**. The mutual murder of the entire student council. It wants to reenact that.

But why. . . ?

What’s the point?

If **d** **e** **spair** has already taken such deep roots in this World, what is the point of recreating such a horrible event? To create _more_ **d** **e** **spair**? But it’s been six years. . . how badly has this world fallen apart in my absence?

“Black. . . and white. . .” I manage to choke out.

“Huh?”

“The bear.” I manage to get out as so many emotions swirl around me. I didn't mind much as Kaito came to my side and placed a hand on my back to support me. Honestly, I could care less. If I didn't regain control of my emotions I could end up killing them all right here and now. “Is it black and white. . . and one red eye. . .?” Ouma narrows his eyes.

“Yeah. . . big and ugly too.” He frowns, looking down to his hand. His eyes glance back to me, watching my responses. My hand is twitching, desperately moving to grab onto some sort of anchor. Kaito places his larger hand into my own. I clutch it as tightly as I possibly can, forcing myself to breath. His concern and efforts are strangely comforting but it seems to be so little.

“What kind. . .?”

“Kind. . .?” Kaede repeats, confusion and fear clear in her voice.

“They come in different types!” I shout back, as if it should be obvious what I’m referring to . . . but it’s so obvious that it’s not. It’s like these teens are all oblivious to what the hell is going on outside this place. It’s like. . . It’s like they don't know Hope’s Peak Academy is _gone_ and it should be impossible to have SHSL titles _._

Goddamnit.

Why?

Why didn't I realize sooner something terrible is happening. . .?!

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -**   ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“WHERE IS SHE!!” A voice suddenly shrieks. My heart seizes up and I clutch Kaito’s hand tighter than before. It was definitely a synthetic voice. . . but it wasn't a welcoming or calming one like Kiibo’s. . .  it reeked of **Chaos Magic**. Slowly, all of us turned to the source of the voice and I can _see it_.

It’s indeed one of those black and white bears that covered Tokyo years ago and slaughtered so many innocent people. . . but it was _talking_. The ones I saw only stared at me, which was unsettling enough, but to actually have one talk to me was so utterly disturbing.

“I see. . . I see. . .” The bear comes closer and my feet feel like lead. I can't move. I can't run. The orders from my brain refuse to connect to my body. The bear is circling around me, humming as he does so. “Alright. Name.”

“W. . . What?” I choke out. My voice sounds so distant, like a strangled squeak.

I . . . I’m so disgusted with myself. I’ve seen and battled so many more terrible and horrific things compared to this . . . this _fucking_ bear. . . but I’m frozen. Frozen in absolute fear. If Sho could see me now, he’d be fucking laughing up a storm over this.

“Name!” The bear shouts once more. “Are you deaf or something!?”

“Hey! Cut her some slack!” Kaito frowns, his tone clearly annoyed and a tad pained. I forced my hand to lessen its grip but he held onto it just as tightly as I did to assure me he was at my side. The bear gives him an unamused look nonetheless.

“Please!” Gonta pleads. “Kazehaya-san has just arrived! She is exhausted!” The bear suddenly looks. . . delighted. There’s an ominous glow to his red eye and he’s bouncing in place as his face starts to flush red.

“Kazehaya?!” He booms. He begins to sweat, as if. . . as if he’s getting off to the idea I’m here. “Yuuki Kazehaya! That’s your name, right?! RIGHT?!” Fear chokes my heart, making my words come out in a trembling stutter, only to be cut off by that bear.

“HOW DID I KNOW?! I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS!!”

“The last. . .” The words die out in my throat as my mind is swarmed with confusion.

The last six years. . . When I fled from Hope’s Peak Academy. When I first had an encounter with these bears. . . Was I being watched that whole time? Was someone really anticipating my return. . .?

“I’m so happy one of my men _finally_ found you!!”

“Why. . .?” Shuuichi softly questions. “Why would you specifically search for her over the course of six years . . .?”

“Why?” The bear repeats tilting his head. “Isn’t obvious?” He exuberantly throws his arms into the air, practically vibrating with glee. “To destroy a preacher of **hope** would be the greatest **d** **e** **spair** to exist!”

“That’s. . . that’s not going to happen you asshole!” I suddenly blurt out, yanking my hand away from Kaito to point accusingly at this monstrous bear. “I refuse to let you get what you want!”

“Oh, so you can talk in proper sentences! I was beginning to think the beloved **Goddess of Hope** only had _idiots_ as her preachers! Seems like a fit for someone as pathetic as her!”

“You have no idea what you're talking about!” I furiously snap back. All the fear I felt before suddenly vanished and was replaced with furious anger. Anger to this bear. For it’s desire to carry out these pathetic killing games and biding its time to see me again. I’ll make it _regret_ waiting on my ASS. “Do not disrespect my sisters! Or **The Council** , **My Lady** works for!”

“No matter,” The bear waves me off. It lets out another chuckle, placing its paws on its stomach. “Assemble my cute children!”

[ **\- The Monocubs Arrive -** ](https://youtu.be/PbzvChYORp8)

Like a dog reacting to the sound of food being poured into its bowl, five. . . cubs appeared. I could only mutter ‘what the fuck’ under my breath. For a moment I was taken back by the fact this. . . thing had children, but it wasn’t too weird in retrospect. My beloved brother, rest his goddamn soul, married a combat-ready android and said android referred to her predecessors as her sister units. These cubs had to be created after the main series of black and white bears and programmed to fulfill the role of a children to him.

All of the bears had similarities to their ‘father unit’ -- such as the bi-colored fur, but they did maintain the white fur -- but the bright pink cheeks and a yellow pacifier did separate them from their father.

The red bear looked. . . confident, almost like a leader. His his left eye was black, contrasting with his father’s. He was wearing a long gray scarf with a silver star pinned to it.

Not far from the red bear was a delicate pink one with vertical magenta stripes and a white right eye. She was wearing a black bikini top with a sakura flower printed on both sides and behind one of her ears was a light pink flower.

Standing beside the pink bear was a blue one. God. He had to be the weirdest looking one of them all. He looked like a wild KISS fan, he had the star shaped eye makeup, chest hair AND the shoulder armor. Hell, even a guitar in hand!

At the other side of the red bear was a yellow one with a brown tiger-like pattern on his fur and a white eye. Interestingly, he had eyelashes on his right eye, a pair of round black glasses and an abacus in . . . paw.

The final bear, an olive green one, was. . . interesting. It wasn’t strange like the blue one. It was just. . . interesting. While all the bears looked plush, he most certainly looked more robot. He didn't have the same rosy cheeks as his siblings, they were a light gray color. His right eye is gray with a red pupil while his left eye is white and his limbs were  made from a gray, bendable metal.

“What is it papa?” The pink bear questions. Her voice was soft and delicate, supplying more fodder to my assumption that she was a girl.

“A super special eighteenth student has appeared!” The black and white bear grins, his paws on his stomach as he breaks out in a malicious cackle.

“Woooah! A new babe?! Yeah baby!” The blue bear cheered. I couldn't help but gawk. His voice was _nothing_ like a child’s.

“She’ll need a **MonoPad** AND a bedroom!” The monochrom bear cuts in.

“A bedroom? But there’s no more rooms pops!” The bear in red exclaims. The monochrom one simply shrugs. At least as best as a stuffed bear can.

“Eh, just break down the wall at the end of the hallway in housing and build it there.”

That. . . That didn’t sound legal. . . in the slightest. . . but why am I expecting this bear to follow any building regulations?

“Oh yeah! With your arrival, a new rule has been added to everyone’s MonoPads!” Before I could question what that meant, numerous beeping sounds rang out. “You should help fellow student and inform her of the rules. I would hate to see Yuuki-chan leave us so soon!” With one final cackle, the bear leaves with his children in tow. I find myself glaring at the spot that monochrom bastard once stood.

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -**](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

“Rules?” I question after several moments of silence.

“Yeah,” Kaito mutters, shaking his hand. I must have crushed it or cut off blood circulation. I’ll have to apologize for that. Maybe later. I suddenly feel so exhausted. “That Monokuma bastard has rules for his sick game. . . Apparently, if we don’t follow them, we die.”

I mutter jackass under my breath.

“Gee Kazehaya-chan, I guess you preaching around the world is true!” Ouma sighs, poking at his cheek.

“What are you talking about. . .?” I question slowly. He huffs, biting the nail of his thumb.

“‘Questioning the eighteenth student, Yuuki Kazehaya, about the state of the outside world is forbidden. Answering any questions from her fellow students will result in the immediate death of a student, chosen at random.’” Shuuichi reads out loud.

Of course a random. . . They must know I wouldn’t dare to do something stupid if it would directly danger someone else. Still. . .

“. . . Why is that forbidden? Do none of you know what’s going on outside this place?” As I reached the end of my question, it seemed so obvious. Tying me up was more than just fear of me being against them. It was fear that I was in league with Monokuma that made them act that way.

“No. . . Gonta cannot remember.”

“It’s not just you.” Kaede reassures him before looking back to me. “No one remembers how we ended up here. . . We just woke up in lockers or random spots on the campus and found each other. .  . Then Monokuma appeared and said were participants in the ‘ **Killing School Semester** ’.”

“. . .I . . . I see. . .” The word escape as some choked sound. My reaction alone was enough to tell them I had heard of the killing games before. They all obviously had questions but seemed too cautious to approach them at the moment given the rule in place.

 [ **\- Become Friends -**   ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“Well Kazehaya-san, what would you like to do now?” Kaede gently asks. “I’m sure you have some questions about the campus. But you look pretty tired so maybe sleep would be nice. . . but we need to find you someone to room with since the rules forbid sleeping anywhere but the rooms.”

“She can room with me.” Kaito says that as if it's not a big deal to invite some unknown woman into his room and share a bed with her.

“T-That indecent!” Gonta shouts, completely, totally and utterly mortified and it seems with that comment, Kaito realizes the implication of his words.

“N-Not like that!” He flushes. He babbles, trying to explain his intentions, which was apparently letting me use his bed while he slept on the floor. Sure, a simple enough plan but still would come across as perverted and skeevy since we hardly know each other. . . but with the way he panicking made it clear he had no such intentions at all.

“Perhaps I can help with that.” A new voice rings out as it approaches us. It was a tall, thin young woman with dull silver hair -- she had long beautiful bangs that happened to obscure her left eye -- her visible eye was an interesting shade of green. She was dressed as a maid, her outfit consisting of a the classic maid headband but also a black button up pinafore with a spiderweb motif on top of a white dress with a black collar, and a purple tie. In addition, she was wearing black gloves with silver rings attached, black tights, and also a pair of black shoes with white laces and heels.

Jesus Christ.

She was. . .

_She was fucking beautiful._

“Pardon me, I am **Kirumi Toujou** ,” She introduces herself with her soft and warm voice. Her body moves with calculated and precise motions that make her appear dainty as she bowed. . .  but the look in her eyes proved she is more than capable to do. . .well, just about anything. “The **Super High School Level Maid**. Given how you are all treating her, I believe it would be safe to assume the miss does not present a danger to us? If that is the case, allow me to be of assistance.”

“Huh? Are you sure Toujou-san?” Kaede gasps. Toujou calmly and gently smiles, bowing her head once more.

“But of course, I live to serve.”

“If you insist. . .” Kaede motions to myself and then to Toujou. “Toujou-san, this is Yuuki Kazehaya-san.”

“Kazehaya-san,” Toujou repeats my name a couple times in order to dedicate it to memory and then, she smiles. “You’ve been blessed with a lovely name.” My face instantly flushes red.

“I. . .I, um,  thank you. . .” I mumble. She smiles once more.

“Shall we head to my room for the evening? You seem to be quite exhausted. . .” Toujou suddenly looks thoughtful and a tad concerned. “Ah, did you encounter Monokuma. . .?”

“Yes,” Shuuichi sighs softly. “I believe she went into a panic attack once she . . um, saw him.

“I see,” Nodding her head, Toujou looks back to me, concern shining in her green eyes. “do you require anything?”

. . . Because I assumed this would be an easy job I didn't think about packing my comfort item. Meaning bouts of depression or anxiety were going to be hell if they decided to rear their head during this job. At least I remembered to pack my medication. . . I let out a sigh and shook my head.

“Anything I would need isn’t here,” I mumbled, clutching my arm. “I’ll. . . I’ll figure something out.”

 “I see, well, if anything comes to mind, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“Well, I think Toujou-san can handle things from here!” Kaede beams. “We’ll go inform the others about the situation!”

 “Very well,” Toujou nods. Off to the side Ouma huffs, commenting how he’s a busy person so he has no intention of talking to the others. Kaito shoots him a look but, predictably, it is ignored.

“Well,” Kaito begins with a sigh. “if you need anything I’ll help you out!”

“Ah, Gonta would like to extend that offer as well!” Gonta smiles in a rather kind and innocent manner and heat flushes my cheeks once again. “As a gentleman, it’s is Gonta’s job to help those in need!”

I weakly sputter a thank you before hurrying out of the room with Toujou following behind with brisk steps. It took a while before I slowed down and she was able to walk at my side. As she lead they way I took another glance around the long halls. The air had shifted since my last look around. There was a certain density that mortals could not sense. It made me feel uneasy. . .

“Is there something on your mind Kazehaya-san?” Toujou questions.

“Ah, not particularly. . .” I admit with a sigh. “This place is just . . . odd and makes me feel a bit uneasy.”

“Yes, the environment is not welcoming.”  Toujou agrees. “However, there seems to be no weapons about and it provides us with the proper necessities to survive.”

“That’s good. . .” I mumble.

It is in all honesty. With an asshole intending to cause murder among young adults you think he would limit resources and make them fight for something as basic as food or water. Although, I can only be concerned with how long it could last before supplies run out. How would we restock . . .? Would the bears simply supply it or else. . .?

My worries came to a stop when Toujou placed a hand on my forearm. With a gentle smile, she motions to the door before the two of us. Without paying attention, she lead me to an entirely new building. From my spot in the foyer I could see a curved staircase with rails to each side of the door, leading to the dorm rooms on the second floor. Each door looked exactly the same, except for the a framed picture in a pixelated likeness of its owner hanging above the door frame.

Reaching into her pockets, Toujou pulls out a simple silver key with a name tag attached to it and slides it into the lock of her door. She opens the door and with a sweeping bow, motioning inside the room.

The room was relatively simple but spacious, there was an attached bathroom by the entrance and a closet built into the wall. The bed was tucked into a nook by the desk, not far from it was a carpet and a lounge chair and table before a TV that was inside a cabinet storage system. Interestingly, there was another TV, this one far more futuristic looking, hanging above the closet door.

Why the hell would anyone need two TVs?

“Kazehaya-san,” I’m pulled away from my thoughts when she calls my name. Toujou gives me a smile as she offers a folded black nightgown to me. “Please take a bath to clean up and calm down.” I accept the gown, ready to thank her but she gives me no such chance, she speaks up once more. “And please, give me your clothes and undergarments. I shall clean them while you bathe and check if I can find any of the same size in storage.

. . .

God.

I have never been so relieved to double check if I packed extra underwear in my entire life. I sputtered, failing to string together a coherent response. All I could do was nod my head and she smiled in return. I awkwardly make my way into the bathroom.

The bathroom was surprisingly nice, and contained both shower and a tub like most Japanese households would. Bit by bit, I removed my clothes and deposited them into a waiting laundry basket; starting first with the long white stockings, then the pale blue cupcake skirt, and finally the pale blue ruffle front blouse with puff sleeves.

All that remained was my veil and underwear I take a moment to glance over my reflection in the mirror before letting out a sigh. Carefully, I pull the veil from my head and I could see the instantaneous changes to my body.

Tanned skin became a pale white as short black hair grew and became a shimmering white with pale blue undertones. Perfect skin became ragged with the scars that have haunted me over the years, especially one that sits on my left shoulder to remind me of how different I was from others.

With another sigh I carefully place the veil down on the counter top before remove my undergarments and tossing them in the bin as well. Opening the door just a crack, I nudged the basket into the main room where it was quickly collected by Toujou. She was about to ease the door shut when Toujou spoke up.

“Your veil is missing. Do you not want it to be cleaned?”

“I-I’ll take care of it my own.” I sputter out. If I was seen without it on it would only cause problems. I’ll have to bullshit my way out of this mess.

“But I insist on it Kazehaya-san.”

“I-I cannot. Our veils are sacred! It’s forbidden for us to remove them before someone unless we are in an intimate relationship with them.” Toujou is silent for several moments before she nods her head from the other side of the door.

“. . .I see. I apologize for trying to take it from you then.”

“It’s fine. . .” I nervously mutter, completely unable to believe she actually bought that lie. I firmly shut the door and after hearing the bedroom’s door open and firmly shut, I turn my attention to the shower. I got to work running water over my body and quickly soaped myself up to wash away the signs of dirt and grime. After dousing myself with another blast of water, I climbed into the waiting tub and began to soak in the warm water. My thoughts begin to float around as I finally have a moment of calm to myself.

What was supposed to be a simple mission has turned out to be something way more than I ever could have hoped it would be.

My failure, my inability, the very sins of my past have resurfaced to haunt me. To make that worse, my failures is the direct cause to why all these young adults were suffering in a killing game. If I paid better attention years ago -- if I was aware of the suffering my friends and classmates were enduring. If I was aware of what was going on at the school -- I could have prevented that incident.

**The Greatest, Most Awful, Despairing Event in Human History**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so if ur here congrats, ,, 
> 
> this is intentionally written that you dont need context of other TFWSiHE arcs [you will receive answers in time], as to what TFWSiHE is -- otherwise known as The Fool With Stars in Her Eyes -- TFWSiHE is something I write to cope with my depression and anxiety. I adore stories where people go off and have fun and fall in love w/ the characters they love. TFWSiHE was never intended to get as huge or expansive as it is, but here we are. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> I havent posted any TFWSiHE stuff on ao3 in years due to harassment, just disconnected oneshots, and after debate I was just, fuck it? Suzuran is actually part two of four, but you dont need to read part one to understand whats going on. [why am i writing part 2 before part 1???? because i can; im a fool]. 
> 
> This series features contains fantasy + magic elements, suicide, depression, blood, intense violence, strong language and suggestive themes (no actual intercourse is shown). Also should be warned that there are many concepts that are mixed and combined to create this series.


	2. {01} (Un)Ordinary Days {02}

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/Hs_QtQkxpFE)

Sleep is impossible with my brain screaming at a thousand miles per hour and the guilt of taking Toujou’s bed while she slept on the couch made me feel no better. With a sigh, I gently rose from the bed and crossed the room to reach the closet. Finding a robe sitting on a hanger, I pulled it on and quietly exited the room.

Like always, walking in my bare feet is nothing but utter agony. It’s an unfortunate result of entering an **Overdrive** a couple years back when I was seventeen. Beings with magic usually have limits to how much magic they can do and I was in an unfortunate scenario where I was forced to keep fighting pass that limit. As a result, the soles of my feet were burned a charred black and each and every step caused me pain unless I was wearing my shoes, which were specially made to ease that pain.

However, with my intentions of looking at the stars, it shouldn’t be a long walk.

But I couldn’t help but glance down the hall, thankfully because the rooms were soundproof, no one could hear the Monocubs’ construction work. It was 2 AM and they’re still at work, shouting at each other over the loud noises. It’s both amazing and completely asinine.

With a sigh I make my way to the front door and out into the courtyard. Much like the ocean, stars had this strangeness about them that brought me calm. Maybe it was because I could usually point out the star that was in actuality Nevgelo, the World where my beloved family resided on. It was hard to explain but that was fine. . . my home was among the stars. . .

As I walked further out into the courtyard I noticed a figure sitting out on the grass.

“Oh, Momota-kun.” I gasp.

“Hey, Kazehaya!” He turns his torso to greet me with a smile. “Woah,” In an instant, he was up on his feet rushing over to my side, a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re in pain.”

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about.” I laugh a bit awkwardly. “I injured my feet a few years back. I have special shoes made to help ease the pain but I didn't bother to put them on.” Smiling, I took a seat on the grass, next to the spot he was sitting not long ago. Gently, I pat the spot next to me to invite him over and after a moment of shock, he broke into a grin and settled down beside me.

“So, is our local astronaut stargazing at this hour?” I question as I look up to the sky. Perhaps sky isn't the right word. My brief survey around the campus provided me with the information that these young adults were trapped in a dome of some sorts. The lighting of the dome changed with the passing of time, making for a great clock.

“Oh, hell yeah!” With a grin, Kaito gives me a thumbs up. “It’s great to look up at the stars! It’s amazing! The entire vastness of space itself is so utterly amazing! I want to go out there and explore it all! Each and every square inch of it!”

I broke into a smile, which in turn became giggles. His love for space and his enthusiasm for his dream, despite how impossible it would be, was utterly endearing and the look of passion in his eyes was beautiful. His cheeks flushed red and he hastily turned away, rubbing his neck sheepishly. I gently placed a hand on his forearm, bring his attention back to me.

“Momota-kun, that’s a lovely dream. The way you shine when you speak of it is wonderful!”

“That’s. . . pretty sweet of you to say Kazehaya.” Kaito looks up to the dome, trying to spot familiar stars on the surface of the dome. Perhaps he saw none and that’s why he turned his attention back to me. “What about you?” I blink dumbly, the words not quite making sense to me.

“What about me?” I ponder curiously.

“I mean, why do you preach? It. . . It kinda sounds like a pain in the ass, no offense. Just, you got seriously hurt and you're away from your family a lot. And you’re . . . I donno, eighteen? What compelled you to leave home in the first place?”

“I’m nineteen actually. . .” I begin with a deep sigh. I start to play with a string of hair as I try to organize my thoughts. Should I refer to Yuuki’s past memories or my own? But. . . There was a similar string between us. . . “I tried to kill myself when I was younger.”

. . .It’s almost how frightening how easily I can say this now. A grim incident from nearly several years ago and I can . . . just say these things almost flippantly. Sometimes, it feels like a distant joke, but, these things still loom over me to this day.

“You. . . You what?” He sputters. His confusion and horror quickly warps into anger. “Why the hell would you do that-?! That’s cowardly! That’s--” I furrow my brows but quickly calm myself by exhaling a deep breath and placing my hands onto his shaking fist. He goes silent and his face flushes once more.

“Kaito,” I say his name firmly as I look into his eyes with the most serious expression I could muster. “Depression is a horrible thing. It’s literally your own brain sabotaging you. Your own body actively fighting against you. . . _even with_ all the help you can manage to get. It saps away your will to live, things you once love become . . . worthless to you. It no longer captivates you. ” His other hand came to rest upon mine as my voice quivered slightly.

I couldn't help how sharp my voice was until it dissipated to misery. This is such a personal problem of my life. Something incredibly heavy and burdensome. My depression is chronic and it’s been hanging over my head since I was thirteen. It’s been with me for far too long. .  . and I’m so tired of people treating it the way they do.

“Then you have society against you, and if you're unlucky enough, your own family. . . People will write off those suffering from depression as lazy or have this insane idea that people have this _choice_ in having it or not. We don't. It may be some genetic inheritance, or the result of abuse or horrific things in our lives or simply our brain refusing to help us. Every day is a struggle to live, to find a reason to live . . . When I tried to hang myself, I genuinely believed it was _better_ . I thought I was doing the best possible thing.” 

“. . .Why would you think that? What about your parents? Why didn’t they do anything?!” His words are urgent, begging me for some sort of answer to my actions in the past. I laugh but the sound is so hollow and pathetic.

“They didn’t _know_ . It’s easy to make people think you’re fine if you fake it for so long. Not like it mattered. My fears, my doubts, _my entire existence_ screamed out and told me it was better to die. All my friendships were false. I wouldn’t be loved. No. I _couldn't_ be loved. No one would miss me. It would be such a burden off my parent’s shoulders to get rid of a child as troublesome as me.”

To my surprise, Kaito pulled his hands from my own and wrapped his arms around my body. I found my face pressing against his shoulder, as an expression of pain and concern painted his face. Lifting my arms, I wrap one around his torso and use the other to give him a gentle pat on the back.

“I’ve gotten better Kaito. I take medicine for it now. I’m in a far better place now than I was years ago. . .” I gently assure him but he still looks distressed.

“Yeah. . . but I said something incredibly shitty. I-I didn't know you, or anyone for that matter. . .  felt like _that_ with depression.”

“Well, you do now,” I give him a smile, withdrawing my arms so I could reach up and press my fingers at the edge of his lips and pull his face into a smile. “You look best with a smile Kaito, please smile more.”

“Christ, how can you say that Kazehaya. . .?” He mumbles, trying to force the blush away from his cheeks.

“I’m only saying what is true.” I huff, my cheeks just as red. Leaning close to him, with my head to his chest and listening to his heartbeat as his arms held me close. . . it felt strangely normal. I know I wouldn't usually open up so quickly to someone I just met. Maybe it was Kaito’s bright and genuine nature that pulled me in. . . all I know is that I felt so safe and comfortable in his arms at this moment.

“. . .But you. . . you tried to end your life . . . how did that lead to you becoming a preacher. . .?” Kaito gently ventures. And like that, the calm and warm air around out was shattered. I let out a deep sigh, trying once more to organize my thoughts. How the hell do I lie about this. . .?  Lie about my role in Yuuki Kazehaya’s life? If I was vague enough, it should be fine I suppose.

“No one ever found me, but I was fine.” I confess. I laugh, not at the fact no one found me, but instead of what actually followed me after my failed attempt. Somethin incredible. Something no one could ever believe. Nothing like that followed Yuuki. “I was unconscious for a while, but as I was, I saw a vision.”

“A vision. . .?”

“Yeah. A pale woman dressed in pale colors with long shimmering hair that shined like stardust. She smiled with such warmth and love, reserved for all. She told me. . . not to give up hope. That we all have something special to contribute to the world, simply by living because there will always be one of us. No one else can do what we do.”

Softly, my voice trails off as I recall what I know of that event. Although it happened years go for Yuuki, I've yet to live this moment myself. All I know about it comes from brief glances from forbbiden records and from information left behind in Yuuki's Diary. I don't know how or why, but somehow, I was drawn to her and we happened to meet each other in the **Sea of the Unconscious**. . . And from the moment I looked at her, I could sense she had a great potential within herself.

But. . . seeing her crumpled weeping body on the floor, I could care less that I found a potential **Sage** to myself. She was so broken and torn apart. The utter hopelessness in her eyes as she stared up at me, begging for a reason to live when her own family was gone and her guardians refused to care for her, pierced through my heart. So I gathered her into my arms and gave her the greatest pearl of wisdom I had received from an old friend.

“When she hugged me, it felt so real. Like she was there comforting me. . . When I came to, I simply started to preach about the feeling of hope and finding our place in the world to the people in my city. Eventually, I left home for other cities, states and then countries. My blood parents were dead at this point and my guardians didn’t give a shit about me, much less what I was doing.”

“. . . Your guardians sound like tools.” He quietly adds a ‘no offense’ and I break out in laughter. Yes, unfortunately, Yuuki’s guardians were useless and they did not give two shits about her. They were the definition of tools in my opinion.

“Yes, they are. . . but it doesn't matter anymore. I have my own family now.” Kaito exhales through his nose, resting his head on top of my own.

“Do they know about this?” He cautiously ventures. Without a sign of hesitation, I nod my head.

“Yes, to be honest, we all have problems. We help each other cope and survive. . .”

“That’s kinda beautiful, in a poetic way.” I giggle at his words and a smile splits across his face. We sit together in a comfortable silence for several moments before I realize Kaito is lifting a hand towards my veil. I raise a brow, not even hesitating to smashing my hand against his. Our hands awkwardly mash together until I interlock our fingers, keeping his hand at bay.

“What are you doing?”

“. . .I wanted to see your eyes again.” He softly admits, unable to look me in the eye. I feel heat rising to my face again. What is it about this dofus that gets me to blush so much. . .?

Jesus.

“Well, I can't exactly do that.” I mumble playing with a strand of black hair. “According to the scriptures I follow, I can only remove my veil for someone if I’m in an intimate relationship with them.” Kaito stares at me, his brows furrowed. For a moment I’m certain he’s going to call bullshit or something, but in the end, all he does is let out a deep sigh.

“That’s a damn shame.” To my amusement, there’s genuine disappointment in his voice. I give him a light shove against his chest. “What’s with that?” He questions with a laugh.

“You said I was a good person because of my eyes.” I muse, recalling his words when we first met. “Was it because of the stars?”

“Well, the stars were one tip.” He chuckles, looking down to his hand. The same hand I nearly crushed in a vice grip when I had a panic attack. Gently, I take his hand into my own and rub my thumb against the palm of his hand, as if to apologize for the pain I inflicted hours ago. A smile crosses his face and he intertwines our fingers and squeezes back. “You have this air around you. Even when Hoshi and Gonta were chasing you and you did strike back, you always aimed to scare your pursuers than actually landing a hit. Ya could have, but you never did. It spoke volumes about how much you value the lives of others. Seeing those beautiful stars really solidified my opinion of you. There were only positive feelings behind them.”

“Well, they do say the eyes are the window of the soul.”

“I’d like to think you’re proof of that.” He chuckles. I find myself laughing . . . And yet, so confused. This warmth and joy I feel. It’s all so very close to the feelings I experience when I find a loved one. It was so strange to find myself attached to him already.

My rattled thoughts came to an end as I felt something moving over the palm of my hand. On instinct I shivered but Kaito simply laughed. He traced the same symbol over the palm of my hand with his index finger

“. . . Oh, is this the kanji for your name?” I wondered out loud. The absolution of the Dipper. How fitting. Glancing to his face, I find him to be radiating with joy with a goofy grin in his face.

“Yep! What about you?” I shuffle through my memory for the kanji that made Yuuki’s ‘reborn’ name. After all, it wasn’t her legitimate name, she was from a Greek family. I can only assume when she renamed herself, she went with a Japanese name because of my title -- **The Kamikaze of Hope**.

“To bind and Hollyhocks.” I smile as I trace carefully the Kanji over the skin of Kaito’s palm.

“Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.” He mused out loud, looking right at me. I stared right back at him with a smile on my face.

“I suppose.” I hummed as we leaned in closer to each other. It was like there was a magnetic attraction between the two of us, pulling us closer and closer. My hands came to rest on his chest and one of his own cupped my cheek.

“Yeah.” He whispers breathlessly as he leans in. Gently, he angles my head and his lips touch my own. The sensation is absolutely wonderful. It feels as if my heart is fluttering with so much power it’s going to break free to scream to the heavens with utter joy.

We slowly part, gazing upon each other with lovestruck expressions. However, Kaito’s expression quickly falls and he looks completely horrified. I raise a brow as he spurts how ‘he shouldn’t have done that.’.

“What?” I huff, placing my hands on my hips. “Was kissing me that terrible?”

“W-What? No!” He exclaims. Given his expression, he looks as if he’s ready to flee. “I-I just, I didn’t _ask_ you! I pretty much threw myself on you!” I blink, taken by surprise by his confession. . . and perspective of what happened.

“Don’t be stupid.” I frown, giving him a hard look. “You didn’t throw yourself on me. Well, to be accurate, we threw ourselves on eachother. . . but that’s besides my point! If I didn’t want you to kiss me I would have cleaned ya clock! _But_ I do appreciate how you were concerned if you were pushing things.”

“. . . You _wanted_ me to kiss you?” He ventures slowly. Blushing, he scratches the back of his head and glances away from me. “Shit, I don’t think I’ve had a girl kiss me and not regret it.”

“They kinda sound dumb.” I huff, placing my small hand on top of his larger one. A smile tugs at his lips as he gives my hand a soft squeeze.

“Nah, I come off too strong for a number of girls or they think I’m some idiotic airhead. Romance . . . Is not exactly my expertise.”

“Well, I’d like to know more about you. Maybe we can go on a couple of dates around here and stuff.” It wasn’t much of a shock that I lost my nerve the more I rambled. I brought my free hand to my face to hide the blush covering it. His arm wrapped around my shoulders, bringing me in for a hug, as the widest smile I’ve ever seen splits across his face.

“I’d like that too.” He grins, holding me tight like I was an anchor to help ground him in these trying times. I lift my head up, looking at him with a smile. Neither of us can stop the stupidly huge smiles that spread across our faces or how we laughed as we held each other close

Under the stars, with that kiss, I think that was the moment I fell in love with Kaito Momota.

 

* * *

 

_But this love is a mistake._

* * *

 

I’m not sure how much longer we stayed outside, talking about various aspects of our lives, before we decided to finally withdraw for the night. Kaito helped me back to my feet, he even offered to carry me back to the dorms but I refused, mostly to have the chance to hold his hand. His face glowed red at the concept of us holding hands, which I found to be completely adorable.

I tightly held his hand and leaned against his body as we walked. Laughing, he lightly rested his head on top of mine. I was so happy. I couldn’t stop the feeling of happy fluttering in my chest.

Hand in hand, we pass through the dorm room buildings when I’m struck with a sudden memory. The dorms automatically lock themselves on exit and I don’t have a key to Toujou’s room. I’m currently locked out.

“Oh.” I utter, suddenly coming to a stop. Kaito give me a curious look, questioning why I stopped. My cheeks flush red and look down to my feet. “I can't go back to Toujou-san’s room. . .”

“Huh? Why not?”

“. . .I don't have a key.”

“Oh.” Kaito's cheeks flush and he glances to the side and holds my hand a little tighter. “Well. . . You can. . . um, stay with me?” My face exploded with red. I had to be redder than a goddamn cherry by now. I placed a hand to my cheek and nodded my head.

“S-Sure. . . okay. . .”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- HIKARI (2016 Piano & String Version) -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88rWhJ7uG4)

 Sleeping was impossible yet again, but this time around, it was for a completely different reason now. It wasn't hard to lift Kaito’s sleeping body off the couch and into the bed. I did this to spite him and his insistence to let me sleep on his bed. But. . . as I gazed on his sleeping expression I found myself captivated.

I carefully climbed into the bed with him, laying on my side as I watched him breath in and out with slow gentle breaths. Against better thoughts, I gently ran my finger over his face, mapping out every aspect of his handsome face.

He looked. . . really beautiful as he slept with that calm and peaceful smile on his face. Quietly, he mumbles something as he leans into my hand and exhales a sigh of content, causing my cheeks to heat up.

God.

I’m hopelessly in love, aren't I?

I watched him until my eyes grew heavy. As sleep finally invaded my senses, I scooched closer to his body and he sleepily draped an arm over my waist to keep me close. I giggle lightly, pressing my lips to his cheek.

This was a nice feeling. . .

 

* * *

**June 21st; Day 02**

* * *

 

I woke up to the sound of running water, the TV talking -- and some vaguely familiar voices -- with Kaito’s familiar smell wrapped around me. I quietly grunted to myself as I opened my eyes to find his jacket draped over my body. Again, my face flushed and I felt strangely giddy. And that’s when an absolutely stupid compulsion overtook me.

Grinning like an idiot, I pulled on his coat. Inevitably, it was too big for my small body. . . but that didn't stop my smile. It filled me with warmth, as if he was there hugging me at that very moment. I giggle with glee of that very thought. However I come to a sputtering stop at the sound of his voice.

“. . .Ah.” Lost in my own world, I failed to notice he had exited the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes and slightly damp. A towel was wrapped around his neck and his . . . hair was down. It should have been expected. There was no way his hair was naturally _that_ spiky.

“G-Good morning.” I managed out as I shyly play with my fingers. His face was flushed, no way from the steam of the bathroom alone. No, it had to be the accursed image of his girlfriend being a shy idiot while wearing his jacket, which was too big for her smaller stature.

“Yeah. . . Good morning.” He manages to choke out. “. . . Kiriri. . .” The second half of his greeting was so soft, I nearly missed it. Was that. . . Was that a nickname?

“Kiriri. . .?”

“Y-Yeah. . .” He mumbles, glancing away and rubbing the back of his neck. “Nerikiri is a wagashi. . . usually shaped after flowers and the seasons. . . and the name Y-Yuki is usually associated with snow. . .” He suddenly smashes his fists together and shouts “SO, I SMASHED THEM TOGETHER TO MAKE A CUTE NAME FOR MY GIRL!”

“My girl. . .” I repeat in awe, my face growing even redder than before. He blinks, looking a bit bashful as he finally glances my way.

“. . .Huh? I-Is that too much?” I quickly shake my head.

“No! Jesus, I’m just flattered. . . You have a nickname for me and everything. It’s really cute. . .” I mumble softly as play with my hair.

“W-Well, cute girls need cute names!”

oh my god im dying

hes so cute

Kaito shuffles around the room for a couple moments before returning to the edge of the bed. He proceeds to cough, offering a white box to me. I blink in confusion. There’s no way this is a present. He couldn't have gotten me a present already.

“It’s your clothes.” He explains, his cheeks a dark red color. “Toujou was knocking on every door, demanding to know where you were when she woke up and you weren't in her room.”

“Oh.” I numbly say as I accept the box. She most definitely probably had an aneurysm when she woke up and saw I was nowhere to be found. . .  and only to find out I’ve been sleeping in the room of a guy I met the day before. Yeah. . . I. . . I need to find her and apologize later. . . With a sigh, I pull my attention away from the box to my boyfriend, only to find him staring at me.

“. . .You’re still staring.” I point out. Kaito hastily looked away, trying to cover his red face with his hand.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re wearing my coat. . . I kinda need it, but. . . you’re. . . really cute in it.” I break out into a grin and a fit of laughter. Kaito narrows his eyes, giving me a pointed but amused look. He suddenly lunges for me, pinning me to the bed as I let out a shriek between another string of laughter.

Slowly, he pulls back to tower over me with a grin on his flushed face. I smile back, unable to stop the giddiness rising in my chest or the heat rising to my cheeks. His cheeky grin never fades as he leans down to press his lips against my own.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

Hand in hand, Kaito and I made our way to the campus cafeteria. Along the way we ran into Kaede and Shuuichi, who were the first to discover our relationship, thanks to Kaito excitedly shouting about it.

“Really? Well, as long as you're both happy!” Kaede smiles delightfully. Shuuichi nods his head, whispering a soft congratulations. Kaede hums, looking at how our smiles split across our blushing faces. “I’m just surprised by your reactions Kazehaya-san!”

“Oh?” I give her a curious look and she sweats a little.

“Just. . . you’re married and yet, with Momota-kun, you get flustered so easily. . . Almost like you’ve never been in a relationship before!”

“Well, I haven't,” I was given numerous, confused expressions which made me realize I completely flubbed what I was trying to say. “I mean, I haven't been in a relationship with Kaito before. So it’s a completely new experience because each and every person is unique. So, we learn about each other, our boundaries and limits and learn to accommodate each other and get used to things like. . . nicknames.” As I whispered the word nickname, a dreamy smile crossed my face and I fiddled with my fingers.

“You have pet names already?” Shuuichi quietly deadpans.

“I think it’s cute!” Kaede beams, clasping her hands together. “What did you two pick?”

“Kiriri. . .” Kaito mumbled as he rubs the back of his neck and glanced to the side. He gives my hand a squeeze and I happily return the gesture.

“Kaichii. . .” I cough. Kaito suddenly clenches his chest.

“Momota-kun!” Shuuichi gaps

“Are you alright?!” Kaede demands, coming in closer to inspect him.

“‘Kaichii’.” He repeats, dramatically clutching at his chest. He then pulls his fist away, tightly clenching it. “I didn’t know you picked out a nickname too! That’s the cutest shit I ever heard!”

I smile, turning to him to give him a hug for a blur of white and purple to jump onto me, wrapping their arms and legs around my body, effectively clinging to me. I glanced downward to the mop of purple hair with confusion.

It’s Ouma.

I’m a tad surprised by this, given his lukewarm reaction to me yesterday. He lifts his head, looking up at me with teary purple eyes. He lets out a loud wail. . . shoving his face into my chest. I was not sure how to respond but, at least, he wasn’t groping anything so I simply pat him on his back.

“Kazehaya-chaaaaaan!!! It’s my birthday and no one remembered!!!”

“Is that so Ouma-kun?” I question, resting  my hand on his head, ruffling his hair. “So you’re a June child as well?” Ouma suddenly ceases his crying, making it obvious he was faking, and squints his eyes.

“Is it June?”

“Well, I arrived on the twentieth of June, making today the twenty first.” I recount out loud.

“. . . Huh,” Ouma hums thoughtfully “I guess it’s not a lie after all. It _is_ my birthday.”

“Get off her you goddamn gremlin!” Kaito suddenly shouts, grabbing Ouma by the scruff of his neck. Given his small stature and Kaito’s strength, he easily removes the boy from my body. However, Ouma kicks and flails in protest, breaking into a new wave of false tears.

“Saihara-chaaaaan!!! Kazehaya-chaaaaan!!! Momota-chan is bullying meeee!!!”

“Oh, c’mon Kaichii, let him go.” Kaito sputters, his cheeks flushing. Ouma loudly gasps, wiggling out of Kaito’s grasp. He then moves closer to me, stars in his eyes as he pressed his hands to his cheek in joyous shock.

“ _Nicknames?!_ ” He gasps. “That’s so gross! You two met yesterday!” A beat passes, which is followed by a loud gasp. “ _You two did_ **_the nasty_ **!!!”

This is it.

This has gone completely pear-shaped.

I’m going to have to decapitate myself.

“Please don’t.” Shuuichi softly begs.

I said that out loud. Oh god. Please Council, strike me down where I stand.

. . . But of course my co-workers do not end my life. Leaving me to suffer in my own embarrassment.

“W-We didn’t do anything like that!” Kaito fumbles. His face is red, making it hard to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Its probably both. . .

“Huh. . . But Toujou-chan said she went missing last night. And she ends up in your room?” Squinting his eyes, he adds;  “Suspicious.”

“It’s really not.” I sigh, placing my red face in my hands. “I couldn't sleep so I went outside to look at the stars. . . and he was there. So we talked and . . . decided to go out and learn more about each other. But I am a fool, and completely forgot that the dorms automatically lock and I didn't have a key.”

“Yeah, so, I offered my dorm to her.” Kaito mumbles. He then pauses, something dawning upon him. “But I. . . I have no idea how I ended up in the bed beside her.”

“EWWWW!!!” Ouma screeches. I lightly bop him on the head to get him to settle down. Ouma looks offended by the light tap and tears gather in his eyes. “That’s so mean Kazehaya-chaaan. . . .”

“Sorry, but you don't gotta scream about that. . .” I mumbled scratching my cheek. Crossing my arms, I then let out a sigh. “He refused to share the bed, going on about how I needed it more. It was complete bullshit, so, I carried him to the bed and laid him down in it.” Kaito jumps, his face flushed more than ever.

“Y-You carried me?!”

“Yeah.” I uselessly shrug. “I still couldn’t sleep. And I know from experience that sleeping on the couch is bad for your back. . .” Shyly playing with my hair, I add: I did it to spite you too. . .

“But how?! No offense Kiriri. . . you’re kinda tiny. . .” I only grinned in response. I walked around Ouma to Kaito’s side, placing one hand on the small of his backside while hooking my other arm under his knees, effectively and effortlessly sweeping him off his feet.

“Like so,” I beam as his face exploded in red. “I may be shorter than you, but I’m pretty sure I’m in far more shape than you are despite my looks. I have to be in shape to travel the world obviously!” Off to the side, both Kaede and Shuuichi are shocked by my strength while Ouma is quietly snickering. I place Kaito back on his feet with a smile on my face and I take his hand once more.  “Anyway, let’s get going! I’m getting hungry.” Still shocked and red in the face, Kaito agrees with my words. He holds my hand a little tighter, shyly glancing my way. Our eyes meet and I smile back at him.

 

* * *

 

“Good morning Kazehaya-san,” Toujou greets me. However, she sends a sharp glare Kaito’s way, making him shiver uncomfortably. “Momota-kun.” She spots our hands intertwined together and shoots him another pointed look. He looks as if he’s about to kneel over.

“Please don't be mad at Kaichii.” Toujou’s eyes widened at the use of the nickname while Kaito’s suddenly flushed face broke out into a prideful grin.

“I went out for a walk and ran into him. I didn't realize I was locked out of your room until we returned to the dorms. He offered to let me stay with him for the night.” Toujou looks at the two of us with a questionable expression before sighing.

“Very well.” She concedes. I nudge Kaito, telling him to go ahead and take a seat as I had some things to take care. He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before making his way over to a table. Turning back to Toujou, she reaches into the folds of her pinafore and pulls out a key -- with a pink name tag with Y. KAZEHAYA written on it in silver stitching attached it -- and something that looks a lot like an iPad. “This is your **MonoPad**. Although it’s a gift from that bear, it’s a useful tool. It has a map, a collection of basic data on all of us and the school’s rules. Please take care of it. It seems we all only get one.”

“I see. . . Thank you Toujou-san,” I smile. I then offer her the white box I was carrying in my arms. “Thank you for caring for me last night. Inside the box are the pajamas and robe I borrowed.” She blinks, apparently taken back that I bothered to return her things to her. A gentle smile crosses her face as she accepted the box.

“It was my pleasure Kazehaya-san. I’m glad to know I helped.” She smiles with a bow of her head. As she does so, I notice the silver chair around her neck and it tumbled out of her clothes, revealing the charm hanging off it. It was a cute little spider silver, which matched perfectly with her the spider web pattern on her dress. “Oh, are you interested in my necklace?” Toujou tenderly asks. There’s a warm expression in her eyes as she rests her fingers on the metal of the chain. “It was a gift from my mother when I was younger. . . It brings me much comfort in these times. . .”

“I see, that’s wonderful. It’s nice to have something that reminds you of better times.” Toujou smiles warmly once more. She then motions to one of the end seats at the table, implying that was my seat. Apparently the seating was arranged by last name and with my inclusion, it seems things got changed up. At the opposite end of my appointed seat was Kaede, followed by a boy with . . . avocado green hair and matching green eyes with noticeably long eyelashes -- according to the MonoPad, his name was **Rantarou Amami** and his **talent was unknown** for some reason.

He wore a dark blue striped sweater with a symbol that resembled a compass in the bottom corner, layered on top of a black t-shirt and white tank top. He wore a pair of gray pants and matching shoes.

He really knew how to accessorize. His right ear had six piercings, while his left ear only has one, and one in his eyebrow. Around his neck was a necklace with a crystal accessory. Several black bracelets on his his left wrist and a single silver band on his right. He also had multiple silver rings: one on his left index finger, one on his right thumb, and one on the right index finger. His right middle finger has a one bigger and darker ring.

God. He had so much of his neck and collar exposed. It was hard not to stare at it. A stupid part of me kinda wanted to sink my teeth into it, but as I said, a stupid part of me.

Next to him was the girl with sharp green eyes that called the guys degenerates. Her name was **Tenko Chabashira** and she was **Super High School Level Aikido Master**. She seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable with the fact that Gonta sat beside her.

Following Gonta was the dismissive Harukawa girl. Her full name and title was **Maki Harukawa** , **Super High School Level Nursery School Teacher**. The chair beside her is empty, informing me that the owner of said chair has yet to arrive, but the owner of the following seat _is_ there despite my initial thoughts.

The guy sitting there -- **Ryouma Hoshi** , **Super High School Level Tennis Player** \-- was incredibly short. So short you’d think he was a child at first. . . but thing in his mouth -- which god I hope is candy -- looked like a cigarette and the air around him certainly said otherwise. It was like he was trying to threaten people away with his vibe alone.

He was kinda . . . strange looking guy, height aside. He wore a black hat with two points, that reminded me of cat eats, and on the center of the hat was the picture of two blue tennis rackets arranged like crossed blades. He wore a black leather jacket, a black and dark blue striped jumpsuit underneath -- which was a bit too similar to a prison jumpsuit -- a pair of brown shoes and . . . a metal cuff and chain was attached to his left leg.

Sitting next to Ryouma was **K1-B0** \-- everyone seemed to refer to him as simply **Kiibo** however -- the **Super High School Level Robot**. Unlike anyone else, he did not have a plate set out before him as he had no way to eat. I could only assume it was because he’s a robot but despite that, he wanted to join us at the table to feel included with everyone else.

To my right was the shrinking violet that got on my case about my chest yesterday  -- **Miu Iruma** , the **Super High School Level Inventor** \-- but I had to admit she had a cute name. The kanji did mean ‘beautiful rabbit’! It made the rabbit like strands on her head look all the more cuter. Giggling to myself, I glanced to my left where Kaito sat. He winked at me, taking my hand under the table.

“Y’all are nasty.” Miu snarls under her breath. Ouma, who sat at Kaito’s other side, let out a quiet devilish chuckle. Poor Shuuichi was trapped next to Ouma, clearly uncomfortable. . . but if it was Ouma or the other guy he sat next to made him uncomfortable was completely unknown.

They guy in question sitting to Shuuichi’s left was **Korekiyo Shinguuji** \--   **Super High School Level Anthropologist** \-- and there was definitely something unsettling about him. He’s a rather tall, slim guy with long blackish blue hair and narrow golden eyes. For whatever reason, he was wearing a black mouth mask with a zipper.

The uniform he wore had to be handmade. It was too unique and certainly not within regulation. It was a dark green military-style uniform -- composed of a white button up shirt underneath the blazer, a red armband on his left arm, a decorative silver chain -- with matching knee-high black boots and cap on his head. Around his neck was a locket and both of his hands are notably completely covered in bandages.

Then there was a pretty and tall young woman wearing rimless glasses that framed her pretty teal eyes and with long wavy cerulean hair that reached her knees. Her outfit consisted of a knee long pleated skirt -- adorned with six white buttons on her waist -- and a matching blazer. She wore a white button down shirt with an orange bow, black socks ending under the knee, and grey shoes.

Her name was **Tsumugi Shirogane** , **Super High School Level Cosplayer**.

Beside her was the spot reserved for Toujou, which she took as soon as she put down a plate for everyone. Beside her was a young woman with big blue eyes and white hair tied back in short wavy ponytails that made for a sark contrast against her tanned skin. According to the MonoPad, her name was **Angie Yonaga** , **Super High School Level Artist**.

Strangely she was wearing a frilly white bikini set, a plain blue skirt with frills sewn to the bottom of it with a pink utility belt which holds her carving tools. Over her clothes she wore a yellow smock that reaches below her knees and exposes her wrists, one that had a white beaded bracelet attached to it. Around her neck was a simple beaded necklace with a sea shell in the middle of it and on her feet were a pair of white slip-ons with dark soles.

The person sitting in the final seat was a rather short girl with a red bob cut. On her head was a classic black witch hat, but her rest of her clothes -- besides the boots anyway -- didn't scream witchy. In fact, she dressed rather simply compared to everyone else -- besides Shirogane anyway. She wore a brown vest and a black collared shirt with a black blazer on top, followed by a red skirt and a pair of black tights.

Her name was **Himiko Yumeno** and her talent . . . was **Super High School Level Magician**? Strangely, that didn't seem right. There was certainly a magical air around her. Was it possible for people of this world to have magical powers?

I don't know. . . _He_ didn't and he should have every talent known to man. Perhaps she coincidentally had the ability to learn but no one to teach her legitimate magic. Maybe I should ask about that later.

Quietly, we all ate the food prepared for us, sharing conversations with those who sat close to us. Kaito seemed to be a really sentimental romantic or perhaps insecure because of his failed romances and he wanted to prove, to me at least, that he genuinely did enjoy my companionship. Either way, holding his hand under the table as we spoke filled me with warmth.

“By the way, Akamatsu-chan, are you okay?” Ouma asks, effectively driving a knife into the calm. Kaito looked away from me, to Ouma and then Kaede. There was a look on Kaito’s face, as if he’s come to a realization about something.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

“You know, you were feeling down since everyone put the blame on you right?” Ouma’s voice seems to be genuine and full of concern but it’s a bit hard to tell if it was real. Regardless, I have no idea what he’s talking about but it’s clearly an uncomfortable subject as the mood did a complete and utter nosedive. I noted a number of eyes darting my way or sending hateful glares at Ouma.

“H-Hey. . . what are you saying all of a sudden--” Shirogane sputters, completely taken back by his words.

“Really… everyone’s so cruel. Poor Akamatsu-chan…” Ouma sobs as he begins his crocodile tears. “All she did is encourage us, yet everyone blamed her just because it didn’t go the way we wanted.”

“Is there a point in rehashing this now?” Kiibo deadpans. Tenko furrows her brows and prepares to literally jump across the table to kick Ouma in the head.

“First of all, weren’t _you_ the one who put the blame on Akamatsu-san first?”

“Huh? M-My fault?” Ouma pitifully whimpers. “Now you’re putting the blame. . .on me?” He bursts into tears with a loud anguished cry, begging to know why they were ganging up on him while calling just about everyone cruel and mean. Ryouma simply snorted, commenting that Ouma was a noisy guy.

On the other hand, I was taken by surprise at how deep his voice sounded. It was the most unexpected sound I’ve ever heard. Something deep and gravely, like Solid Snake, but coming from such a small body. What the Christ.

“But that is true.” Kaito grunts over the sound of Ouma’s exaggerated sobbing. “Every last one of you put the blame on Kaede without taking any sort of responsibility. . .”

“Now now. Everyone was probably just exhausted.” Amami smiles and speaks in a soft voice in an attempt to placate him.

“Shut up!” Kaito shouts, slamming his fist on the table. Interestingly, Ouma jumps, causing his sobbing to stop all together. . . but it was as if he was genuinely startled by the sound. “Like that’s an excuse!”

“No, it’s fine! I don’t mind at all!” Kaede shouts, effectively cutting down any argument before it could spiral out of control. Sighing softly, she clutches her arm with an expression of anxiety. “. . . I should have paid closer attention to everybody’s feelings. I was too caught up with that tunnel, so, I’m sorry too.” Kaito was silent to several long moments before letting out a sigh.

“Fine . .  If you’re okay with that, then so am I.” Immediately, Ouma brightened up and ceased crying all together.

“Aah~ Thank goodness! I’m glad that was settled!” He beams. Everyone shoots him a look, expression ranging from annoyance, exasperation and simply exhaustion.

“… You’re the one who originally brought this up, weren’t you?” Kiibo deadpans once more.

[ **\- Cool Morning -**     
](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

“Aah, that was a lie.” Ouma sighs, checking his nails as if this was a boring conversation despite the fact he instigated it in the first place. “It was a well-intentioned lie I made to strengthen our unity.” He flashes a sly smile to the group. “. . . Didn’t you know? Half my lies are made in kindness.”

“That especially stinks of a lie.” Himiko mumbles.

“The concept itself isn’t exactly a lie. It’s not like I tell my children what I do. I just lie and tell them something else so they don't worry.” I say with a casual shrug.

“Wait a fucking moment, you and _space_ _dick_ have kids?!” Miu demands, slapping my boobs. I wince, giving her an accusatory look.

“That’s deplorable, you degenerate!” Tenko shouts across the table.

“It’s not like that!” Kaito shouts back as everyone begins to mutter.  People were squinting their eyes, giving the two of us judging looks. Clearly, Kaede didn’t bring this up at all.

“But didn’t you take her into your bed for a romantic trice last night?” Ouma innocently asks. Tenko is _really_ gearing up to kick Kaito now.

“T-That’s not what happened! We just, I donno, cuddled?” He glances my way, quietly questioning if cuddle was the right word. I uselessly shrug before nodding my head.

“Y-Y-You did whaaaaat?!” Tenko gasps, her face flushed red and she starts to sweat for some reason Why _she_ is embarrassed over the fact Kaito and I cuddled is beyond me. That aside, everyone is looking directly at Kaito, Ouma and myself. I guess because we're the hottest gossip around here. This is embarrassing. I had to stop this before it got any weirder. . .

“So what do you want for your birthday dinner Ouma?” Attention immediately shifts away from the three of us and only on Ouma. . . but the way he looks at me is the most unexpected turn of events. His eyes are wide and his expression is nothing short of genuine confusion. I can practically see the gears turning in his head but he just can’t _understand._

“What?” Even his voice sounded completely baffled.

“Birthday dinner.” I repeat. . . but he keeps giving me those confused eyes.

Oh god. Has this boy never had a birthday?

“What with that look Kazehaya-chan?” Ouma suddenly grins. “Can’t you tell I’m lying?”

Bullshit. After the clear confusion on his face, it’s not like anyone is gonna buy that shit.

“I want gyoza!!” He beams, throwing his hands into the air.

“Then, I shall begin preparations after preparing Hekoten-san’s soup and medicine.” Toujou nods, rising from her seat and began collecting plates from those who had already finished their meal.

“Ah, is she still not well?” Shuuichi questions.

“Yes, unfortunately, her fever has not gone down.” Toujou glances to Shirogane. “You’ve volunteered to watch over her, correct Shirogane-san?”

“Yes! Ikiko-chan and I have been friends forever!” For some reason, despite her cheery attitude, something about that statement. . . seemed off. I didn't have much time to dwell on it before Angie jumped up to her feet, beaming.

“Then, let us prepare for Kokichi’s birthdaaaay!”


	3. {01} (Un)Ordinary Days {03}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an absolute meme completes despair death road and bakes a cake

Objectively, celebrating Ouma’s birthday was not something many people wanted to do. However, it was a perfect thing to distract them from the Killing Game, so they all decided to pitch in and help somehow.

Angie declared herself the head of the decoration committee, under the order of her god Atua, and dragged Himiko into helping her, which in turn caused Tenko to volunteer to help. Toujou stated she would be able to take care of the gyoza herself, much like I said I could prepare the cake on my own. Ultimately, Kaede and Shuuichi was tasked with the responsibility to of occupying Ouma while a few others are given the responsibility to guard the mess hall in shifts so Angie can properly decorate it and they all could find gifts for the boy.

As for everyone else, they're off doing other things, God knows what, but I’m in no place to complain as I’ve taken to wandering around until at least two o’clock, which would be the perfect time to start on the cake.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Despair Death Road -  
** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw5kgfHPVqg)

Aimless wandering lead me to the curious sight of a manhole cover on the campus. There was something. . . off about it. Besides the fact it was not properly put into place. Curiosity got the better of me so I moved the cover aside and climbed down the waiting ladder which lead to a rather large and empty room.

This sure as hell wasn't a sewer. . . It was a tunnel and one of the familiar futuristic TVs were stationed in here. But why? What exactly is this place?

“What the fuck?” I whisper.

[ **\- The Monocubs Arrive -  
** ](https://youtu.be/PbzvChYORp8)

There was a strange sprouting mounting sound, and as if materializing out of thin air, Monokuma’s children appear before me. I let out a loud shout, jumping back and throwing my arms into the air.

“ _Shit!_ ”

“So, you’ve come to challenge **Despair Death Road**?” The red bear -- **Monotaro** , I believe? -- questions, crossing his stubby arms.

“Your classmates have an impressive record of ten consecutive fails.” **Monosuke** \-- the yellow bear -- chuckles as he pushes his glasses into place. “Do you intend to beat their record?”

“. . .So, is this the tunnel the others were talking about. . .” I muse out loud. I glance to the pink bear -- **Monophanie** \-- since she seems to be the nicest of the lot. “What’s at the end?” She gives me an expression, something close to an innocent smile, and puts her little paws together.

“ **An exit**.”

“What?”

“ **4N-3X1T**.” The olive bear -- **Monodam**? -- repeats emotionlessly. Also was that L33T speak? Christ. Does Monokuma hate him or something?

“Sounds like bullshit.” I sigh after several moments of thoughtful deliberation.

“You cowardly bitch!!!” **Monokid** \-- the KISS wannabe -- shouts furiously, lifting his guitar into the air to smash it against the ground. . . which he actually does. And despite that, he pulls another guitar out of seemingly nowhere.

“When did I say I _wasn’t_ going to do it?” I frown, shooting the bear a glare.

Yes, it was completely stupid and reckless. . . Especially knowing how it affected everyone else, but, I needed to see whatever existed at the end of the path. Whatever illusion Monokuma left to delude and force everyone into deeper despair, I knew it could not be the genuine truth and I needed to see it to counteract it.

“Woah! That’s hardcore!” I give Monokid a look. That’s certainly one way to put it. . . but Jesus Christ. What a weird bear.

“Well, got anything to tell me about the tunnel?” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips.

“No,” Monosuke immediately cuts in. “It’s supposed to be a blind run and to ensure that, it changes each time. If you want _more_ detail than that, you’ll have to use one of your **favors** to get more information.”

My _what_? I have favors from these bears? What the christ. The beats quickly notice this and proceed to huddle together and speak in low whispers.

“She looks confused. . .” Monophie whispers.

“Did you not tell her about the favors, dumbass?” Monokid hisses.

“Oh yeah. I forgot.” Monotaro mumbles. Although their expressions didn’t change all that much, I could tell they were looking at Monotaro with disgust and fallen expressions. He didn’t seem to notice although. I couldn’t tell if he was oblivious or ignoring them although.

“Okay!” Monotaro beams rather delightfully. “Pops said you are a **special participant** in the killing game, so you get to request one favor from each of us.”

“A favor. . .?”

“It can be anything.” Monophanie smiles. “To gather certain supplies, or keep certain people away from you. . . or . . . well. . . ” As she trails off, she oddly looks pale.

“MURD3R” Monodam finishes for her. “Y0U-M4Y-3NL1ST-0N3-0F-US-T0-C0MM1T-4-MURD3R-F0R-Y0U.”

“Oh hell no.” I hiss, waving off the very concept. “I have zero intentions to murder anyone. Especially not with you damn bears. I have a strict **no kill policy** and I plan on keeping it that way.”

It’s an old policy I instilled around the time I first became a Sage, which would be nearly several years ago. To bring **hope** to people, it would ironically mean I would have to go to war sometime. Despite that, I never had it in me to kill someone -- I would usually use non-lethal methods -- and If I _did_ raise a weapon against anything humanoid, it was because they either **requested death by my hands** , or **lost their humanity**.

Neither scenario brought me pride. Only disgust and regrets. The price to bring **hope** to others is a heavy burden to carry. . . One that I alone have been forced to carry.

“Alright,” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips. “You bunch can leave now. I’m gonna run this thing.”

“Huh? By yourself?” Monotaro gasps.

“It’s nothing.” I grin smugly. I smash my fists together, almost as if I’m imitating Kaito, shouting “Yosh!” Before I take off running.

[ **\- Despair Death Road -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw5kgfHPVqg)

My shoes slam against the dark blue cobbled bricks as I emerge from the brief darkness. The path lead to a new, extensive and spacious part of the sewers -- cold but filled with a smell of oil and blaring with the sounds of machines at work.

I take care in examining the area as I move, which makes it more than easy for me to dodge the first obstacle. A series of cages attached to chains drop from the ceiling above but I duck and roll out of the way and take off running once more.

An object in the shape of Monokuma’s head with tiny propellers come flying to me in a line. Feeling no fear, I grab a stone off the ground and quickly toss it at one of those things. Turns out, it’s a bomb. It begins to explode the moment the stone came in contact act with it but thanks to my reflexes the detonation was near the other bombs than myself, which in turn cause a chain reaction of explosions.

With a tiny ‘hup’ I jump up to grasp the edge of the tall ledge before me. It takes a moment to get my footing and necessary traction to haul my body onto the ledge, where a rather huge steel door blocked my way.

It was nothing. Grinning to myself, I placed a hand on my forearm and flexed.

. . . Why am I doing this? I’m the only one here.

Embarrassed at my own antics, I forged forward, pushing the door wide open with minimal effort. I continued down the path, passing what appeared to be yellow blobs of hell on the wall. I didn’t pay the much thought, which was a mistake, as they detached from the wall, rapidly blinking a red light.

“OH SHIT!” I screened, realizing these were in fact, bombs. I took off running as fast as I could in order to avoid having them stick to my body or fall close enough to me. Tearing up a path, I once again entered a dimly lit section of the tunnel to emerge in a new section. It looked like an industrial factory and the dull coloring didn’t help either.

For whatever reason there was a huge lack of floors and instead it demanded that I had to get around with floating platforms. Floating platforms that did not move in any logical fashion. Some moved very slowly but some moved erratically, as if dropping into the abyss below or intending to hit the bombs on the ceiling.

“Christ.” I muttered, rubbing my face. Letting my hands fall to my side, I take a deep breath and charge forward to make the leap. I nearly eat it on the landing but I manage to nail it. Just barely. However, immediately, the platform moves erratically, nearly flinging me off in the process.

I opt to crouch down and cling to it until it’s in the optimal position in order to reach the next platform. Once the moment comes, I leap forward and then to the next platform, where I proceed to flip and land on a solid non-moving surface.

Yet again, propeller bombs casually fly towards me, this time aiming for my feet. Surprisingly, jumping over them is effective as the have no motion sensors at all and thus continued to fly off into the distance until they collided with something. Needless to say, there was a giant explosion in the distance.

Regardless, with them out of my way I was able to pass through yet another dark point of the tunnel to emerge in a new section. It looked like a factor, but was far more industrialized as the last section, far more futuristic with a blue hue . . . And there was the smell of gas?

Glancing to the floor, I realize why it smelled like gas. Under the mesh floor were pipes that expelled gas and occasionally would light up in flames. Thankfully the flames wouldn't ever climb higher than the mesh but it would certainly be enough to distract someone and warm their feet a bit. While a prey would have been caught up in a moment of panic, they would have most likely missed the cages hanging from above and would have been easily captured.

Armed with this knowledge I avoided the trap and took a running jump off the ledge onto a lower land formation. Another cage dropped almost immediately, and like all the rest, it missed me. Acting quickly, I proceed to cling to the cage as it rose upwards once more, avoiding another set of propeller bombs. With careful footing, I made my way around the cage to reach the neighboring one.

With one hand, I grab the bars of the other cage and, one at a time, I place my feet at the bottom of the cage. With my other arm, I squeeze it through the bars and wave it around to activate the sensors. The cage plummets in an instant, and I jump off to continue on my path.

Not far off, I can see another set of platforms, propeller bombs and an iron door. . . but beyond that door was another one of those futuristic TVs and a giant door with what appeared to be some. . . energy shield guarding it? What the fuck? Is all of that necessary?

I can question that later I suppose. . .

With a sigh and a shake of my head, I watch the movements of the bombs. It would be much harder to avoid them this time around if I had to watch out for them while on platforms. After dedicating a few minutes to watching the pattern of the bombs I sprung into action. Jumping from platform to platform, I leapt over some bomb -- successful avoiding them and leaving them to explode against some other surface -- however I failed to consider the possibility that the chain of propeller bombs I saw weren’t the one and the same.

So, by the time I crossed the platforms and reached the closed gate, yet another set of bombs started flying down the very same path. I wanted to scream, however, I didn't have time for that. Tightly gripping the steel bars, I lift a foot to smash the lower hinge of the door and proceed to rip the entirety of the door from its hinges to bat the bombs away before they could touch me.

Unfortunately, my timing isn’t perfect. The bombs explode end up exploding too close to my body, propelling me backwards. However, the good news was that was the direction I wanted. Jumping up to my feet I approach the sloped walkway that lead to the giant doorway, guarded by the force field.

Why was this shield even necessary? It was like a giant fuck you to whoever approached it. I wasn’t even sure it could even _open_. It probably couldn’t given that the objective was to torment the others. That sounds about right. . .

Rather abruptly, a fanfare plays and confetti flew into the air as a banner suddenly tumbled down from a support beam above me. I scramble to the side, completely taken off guard by these antics.

[ **\- The Monocubs Arrive -  
** ](https://youtu.be/PbzvChYORp8)

“You did it!” Monophanie beams, appearing out of nowhere with her siblings in tow.

“Congratulations on beating ‘ **Despair Death Road** ’!” Monotaro cheerfully adds.

“B3C4US3-Y0U-4LR34DY-KN0W-TH3-ST4T3-0F-TH3-0UTS1D3-W0RLD--” Monodam is unfortunately cut off by Monokid.

“Pops said you get some **special prizes**!” I raise a brow.

“ **Special prizes**?” I repeat. Monosuke adjusts his little glasses.

“Correct, a special skin for your MonoPad,” As he says that, my MonoPad beeps within my purse, I pull it out to examine the new skin. It was kinda cute. Paper craft cut outs of all the prisoners could be seen running about on screen, the groups always changing depending on which function I was using. “And a thousand Monocoins.” He then steps forward to give me a bag of jingling golden coins that depicted his father’s laughing face. I stare at the bag for several moments before looking back at him with utter confusion.

“What the hell do I do with this?” He lets out a deep sigh as if he’s the one who’s exhausted here.

“It’s the only money we accept here. The gacha machine in the school store require these coins and between us, we have plans to include a casino. Hopefully you won’t die before we unveil it.” And with that said, the bears vanish, leaving me behind. Squinting my eyes in disgust, I glance around.

[ **\- Cool Morning -  
** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT8Kmh0XO9o)

“How the hell do I get back?” And like some horrible ironic joke, a pipe suddenly appeared out of the floor. It had instructions taped to it, telling me to use said pipe to return to the entrance. That totally wasn't sketchy looking at all. Regardless, only two thoughts existed in my mind at this point.

This is incredibly stupid, I’ll probably die.

And, okay.

And yet, I leap into the pipe. . . I let out a shriek as I shot at high speeds down the tube, taking rather wild and extreme twists and turns. . . Thankfully no death was involved, as I was deposited back at the beginning hub of this hell hole, unfortunately, into Maki’s arms. She briefly looked surprised then annoyed as she dropped me flat on my ass.

“What are you doing here?” She questions with narrowed eyes.

“I saw the manhole and decided to investigate.” She sighs, brushing her bangs back.

“You we’re trying to complete the tunnel, right? There’s no point in trying.”

“Actually, I completed it. . .” Maki’s eyes narrowed, giving me the most deadliest look a human could perform. Christ. I thought my ‘ **eyes** ’ were deadly but if she had magic, Maki’s gaze could certainly kill a person.

“How.”

“It. . . It kinda was a challenge but I’m rather durable . . .”

“. . . And the end?”

“There was a giant gate with a shield but the cubs refused to deactivate it since I’m already aware of what the world looks like beyond this place.” She sighs, clearly looking frustrated and disappointed. I break out into a sweat, not sure what to do now.

“. . . What do you want?” She asks when she notices that I’m still around.

“Uh, you. I guess?”

WAIT SHIT

She narrows her eyes.

“Do you want to die?”

“I DIDNT MEAN IT LIKE THAT!!”

[ **\- Become Friends -  
** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“. . . Then, _how_ did you mean it?”

“I just want to talk to you . . . about you?” Maki lets out a sigh, brushing her bangs back once more.

“Fine.”

“So, how exactly did you get into caring for children. . .? You . . . ” I pause, bringing a finger to my lip. “Well, I guess that wouldn’t be a fair statement for me to make given I don’t _look_ like a mom.”

“You mean ‘how the hell is she an expert in child care?’, correct?” Awkwardly, I rub the back of my neck.

“To put it bluntly, yeah.”

“I don’t like kids.” She sighs. “But they like me.”

“That. . . kinda sounds a lot like my wife.” I laugh. Maki blinks, genuinely surprised by my reveal of a wife. “She doesn't exactly hate them per say, but she’s definitely uncomfortable in dealing with them but children seem to flock to her.

“Wife?”

“Yeah, I’m pansexual actually. Male, female or anything else means very little to me. Just, if we can love and connect to each other, I’ll be happy.” I laugh, raising a hand to scratch my cheek.

“. . . I wonder how we can be so alike and yet, so different. . .?” She wonders out loud. There was a forlorn look in her eyes and yet, annoyance and. . . betrayal? Still, the tone of her words didn’t exactly feel right. It was like she was referring to . . . something other than my preacher title. . . but that would mean she’s not talking about childcare then.

“Uh, environment and emotional responses can shape people.” I find the words spilling out of my mouth before I could stop them. I felt like a goddamn idiot. “It may not matter if two people come from the same place, they can become two completely different people because how they choose to react to stress and others or how the world around them shapes and molds them.”

“. . . Ha. You’re strangely knowledgeable about the human mind for a preacher.” She says this with a rather amused tone but also with irritation. At this point it’s fairly obvious that she doesn't trust me and I have some doubts that she’s an actual child care professional.

“. . .It helps while working as a tactician.” I respond simply to avoid letting this escalate. “I took some classes in psychology as a student.” I add with an afterthought. She raises a dubious brow.

“You’re a strange one Kazehaya.” She states with a laugh before turning her back to me. I can’t tell if it’s amused or annoyed. . . “Let's get going.”

“Huh?”

“You’re baking a cake for that gremlin, right?” Maki sighs. “By now the kitchen is open. Let's get going.”

“Wait. Together?” I question, rather baffled.

“I don’t trust you in it alone. You’re probably as much of an idiot as your boyfriend.”

“I can’t cook worth a shit but I can bake a hella cake. Deserts are my specialty!” I grin, pumping my fists. She glanced over her shoulder to shoot a dark look my way before looking forward once more and begin the climb back up the ladder.

. . . Thoughtlessly, I followed closely behind and glanced up as she began her assent.

I

I saw

. . .

_No one can ever know this sin._

 

* * *

 

“We’re baking a what?” Maki questions as she ties her long hair into a bun and toes a white handkerchief on her head.

“A cannoli cake.” I repeat. Without thinking about it, I roll up Maki’s left sleeve above her elbow. She gives me a sharp look, causing me to jump back and hold my arms in the air.

“Isn’t that a bit too much?” She questions with a sigh, grabbing the measuring cup and checking how soft the butter was.

“It’s a birthday.” I grin, placing a jug of milk and a bowl of eggs on the countertop. “It only comes once a year so it’s perfectly acceptable to go hard.” Maki soffs. She then proceeds to throw ¾ of a cup into a large mixing bowl, followed by 1 ½ cup of granulated sugar. Maki looks up to the cork board above the counter, covered in pinned down recipes, and squints her eyes. She lifts up the container of sour cream and gives it a hard look

“Does this recipe seriously need sour cream?”

“Yes.” I answer without skipping a beat. “Just don’t add it yet. You have to stir the the butter and sugar together until it’s fluffy first.” I turn away from her to preheat the oven and prepare the cake pans by greasing the sides and lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. “Also yes, three to four minutes.” Maki mutters something under her breath as she stirs the bowl’s contents with irritation.

I rush over to her side, placing a hand on her forearm.

“Use the French spatula,” I inform her as I replace the wooden spoon in her hand with said tool. “We want it to be fluffy, not flat. By beating it up and stirring aggressively you’re airing it out.”

“. . . I guess you weren’t joking when you said you knew how to bake.” She mutters as she stirs the bowl with a little more care. As she took care of that, I took a smaller bowl and cracked the egg open above an egg whites sifter. I deposited the yoke into another bowl off to the side for the time being before repeating the process with a second and third egg.

With the butter and sugar mixed together into a fine cream, Maki added the ¾ of sour cream and two teaspoons of vanilla extract and stir the bowl until it was well blended. She took the egg whites and added them, making sure to scrape the edge of the bowl to ensure everything was combined. Said process was repeated when she took the other three egg whites.

Quietly, the two of us worked beside each other and it was rather peaceful. As Maki got the hang of working with the mixing tools, her expression  didn’t look as harsh. It melted away into something calmer.

It was rather beautiful. . .

I shook the thought from my head, pouring ¼ of water into the measuring cup containing ¾ of milk. Using a dry measuring cup I poured 2 ½ of all purpose flour into a medium bowl with 4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of  cinnamon. Quickly mixing the dry ingredients with a whisk, I then poured half of it into the larger bowl Maki was taking care of along with the milk-water mixture.

She proceeded to mix until it was well blended and then I added the rest to the bowl. Maki continued to mix the bowl until it’s contents became a fine batter. She then poured the mixture into the waiting cake pans and slide them into the oven.

As she did that, I began to collect all of the equipment we used thus far and that was the moment Kaito entered the kitchen. Maki shot him a nasty look as she slammed the oven shut.

“Aw, you’re baking with Harukawa?” He frowns and pouts like a dejected child. “I wanted to help out, Kiriri!”

“Well, you can.” I laugh. “I have to make the filling and icing still.”

“A filling _and_ icing? Aren’t you going ‘too big’?” Maki sighs. She approaches the sink, softly questioning where are the gloves.

“There are no gloves.” I sigh, putting a hand on my cheek. “Toujou said she couldn’t find any, anywhere.” Maki mutters some choice things under her breath. “Also go big or go home is exactly what’s on the tin. Birthdays are kinda a big thing back home for me--” I was promptly cut off by Kaito throwing his arms around me and clinging closely. Maki made a face of disgust before returning her attention to cleaning.

“Well, c'mon Kiriri! Let me help!”

“Alright, alright,” I point to the aprons hanging off a hook by the door of the kitchen. “Hang up your coat, roll up your sleeves and get an apron.” Kaito continues to grin as he does as I instructed. Smiling, I take a clean hand towel to dry the large bowl Maki finished cleaning and set it to the side. I move the containers of ricotta and mascarpone cheese to a spot next to the bowl.

Then, grabbing the flour and granulated sugar, I tossed them back onto their appropriate shelf, but thanks to my height I had issues grabbing for the bag of powdered sugar. However Kaito seemed to catch on to what I wanted and easily took it down for me. As he passed me the bag of powdered sugar, he gave me a soft peck on my lips. My face exploded with red which only made him grin with a smug satisfaction.

I slapped his arm before reaching for the measuring cup, making sure it was dry.

“First thing first, check the ricotta cheese. It won’t be any good if it’s watery.” Kaito nods his head, grabbing the proper container. Actually, was he even able to read the English printed on it. . .? “Can you read that?” I ponder out loud.

“I doubt that.” Maki snorts.

“Don’t be like that Harukawa!” Kaito laughs a prideful grin crosses his face. “Language training makes up one fourth of an astronaut recruitment exam! I can fluently read and speak English, Japanese and Russian!” She pauses here work to give him a dubious look. I simply gasp in awe.

“Really?! I didn’t know the exam tests that!” Sheepishly I add, “I only know Japanese, English, French and Greek!”

All lies except English as I was ‘born’ and raised in Florida. It was thanks to a handle translator pin, given to me by my superiors, I could speak, read and write fluently in any language. Anything I heard would be translated to English so I could understand it but all my replies would be in the appropriate language for the recipient.

“Greek?” Maki questions raising a brow.

“Ah, my birth name is actually Aphrodite.” I smile. “I changed it to Yuuki Kazehaya after my ‘rebirth’ of sorts.” Maki gives me a look for several long moments before returning her attention to the dishes she was cleaning.

“So, what’s up with French?” Kaito ponders out loud, scouring out the necessary amount of ricotta into the measuring cup. “I expected you to know more than that.” I blinked, confused by his words for several moments.

“Oh, I do, I know bits and pieces of other languages. Those four are the ones I’m the most fluent in. I have family in Paris.”

“Do they treat you well?” He asks as I pass him a French spatula, explaining it would work better in scooping the container clean.

“Yeah, they’re the only good relatives I have.” I lie, brushing my hair behind my ear. Yuuki Kazehaya didn’t have any relatives other than her aunt and uncle -- one who was an only child and the other had only one sibling, which was Yuuki's deceased mother. -- but I had a number of aunts and uncles on my mother's side of the family. And unknown to my ‘birth’ family, I had another family out among the cosmos.

Initially I was taken under the care of the family under false pretenses, but the man loved and cared for me as if I was his own child and, well, the adoption became official in the end. Even after they had a natural born child of their own, they continued to love me as their own. It was also this man who introduced me to the polyandry lifestyle with his beloved wife and husband.

“Good,” A smile splits across his face as he pours the ricotta into the bowl. “Maybe we can see them together once we leave this hellhole.” I flush once again.

“W-What? Don’t you think that’s a bit quick?!”

“Not really.” Kaito shrugs. “I’m pretty sure we’d be off getting married by that time.”

Holy shit

I’m _screaming_

Normally any cocky man saying I was going to marry him would make me want to punch him but hearing Kaito say that made my chest implode. The thought of marrying him was a rather satisfying one and my flustered expression only served to make his grin grow even wider. I placed a hand on his face and shoved him away from me.

“We’ll see when we get there.” I sigh opening the container of mascarpone. I scooped the proper amount into the bowl along with the powdered sugar and teaspoon of vanilla and cinnamon.  “Now use the spatula to mix it up, but don’t do it too long or too hard. Otherwise it gets too thin and watery.” Nodding his head, Kaito followed my instructions, clutching the bowl and folding the ingredients on top of each other and pressing down to combine them.

How he would glance back to me with a grin, showing me his progress as he worked. With the scent of cinnamon and sugar in the air, the whole situation was strangely domestic and it brought a smile to my face. Laughing to myself, I took the bowl from him and placed it in the fridge for the time being. I cheated, using a little bit of ice magic to help it firm up a little faster.

With that taken care of we started to help Maki with the clean up the utensils, wiping down the counter and storing what unnecessary leftover supplies we had sitting around. Checking the white leather watch on my wrist, I noted that it was almost time to pull the cake pans from the oven so I grabbed three cooling racks and placed them down on the countertop.

I grab two clean hand towels, approaching the open to grab a pan from the heated box. I loudly state I have hot pans as I shuffle back and forth, after placing the final pan on a rack, I return to the oven to turn it off.

“For the time being we can wait in the dining hall. We can’t work while the cakes are fresh out of the oven. The heat would melt the filling and it needs to be firm.” Maki simply nods her head and exits the kitchen. On the other hand, Kaito reaches out to pull me into a hug.

“It was. . . uh, kinda cute to see you working around the kitchen.” I raise a brow. It would be terrible if he was one of those ‘stay in the kitchen and make me a sandwich’ guys. However he blushes, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, like a doting wife? Or mom? You hardly know Ouma and he doesn't exactly leave a great impression. . . But you ended up organizing a birthday party for him.”

Ah.

“Yeah . . . But I think this is the only birthday he’s ever had. . .” I softly admit, brushing hair behind my ears. Kaito blinks, slowly absorbing my words.

“Do you think so?”

“He didn’t even know it was his birthday. Most people would know that and anticipate it.” I sigh, rubbing my arm. “On top of that, he looked so confused when I suggested a birthday dinner to him. It was like, he never heard the concept before. . . I don’t know his past, but, I want to make his birthday special while we’re trapped together. Like I do for my kids. . .” I glance up to gaze on his face and I find Kaito’s expression to be a mix of adoration and love struck. Gently, he tilts my head up with a finger under the chin and presses a soft kiss to my lips.

“You’re really something Kiriri.” Kaito smiles gently. He takes my hand and together we enter the dining hall.

 

* * *

 

With the passing of enough time; Maki, Kaito and myself entered the once more. I pulled the bowl containing the filling out of the fridge and got to work carefully removing the cake layers from their respective pans.

I placed one layer before Maki on a sheet of parchment paper and gave her the instructions to cut off the dome of the cake to keep all of the layers a flat surface. Kaito carefully took the cake layer, placing it in the center of a cake serving tower and slid the tower over to me. I scooped up some of the filling, placing it in the center of the cake, and proceeded to smooth it out with an icing spatula -- once again cheating by using magic to keep the icing firm. The process repeated until the three layers were stacked on top of eachother.

Together, we prepared the frosting by mixing in mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and some vanilla extract. Kaito enthusiastically took the job of icing the cake. . . and it looked a bit messy. I snickered, taking the icing spatula from him to smooth out the cake’s icing into a nice even layer before coating the side with mini chocolate chips. Maki then filled a piping bag with the remaining icing and made a border around the top of the cake as I sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar.

At long last, the cake was complete. With a smile, and a bit of exhaustion, we smiled at the fruits of our labor.

 

* * *

 

At around five o’clock, Ouma was finally allowed into the dining hall. Bright color streamers hung from the ceiling, along with handmade dolls molded after all of us -- centered on the table was a doll of Ouma wearing a cape and crown, sitting on a lace doily -- numerous balloons littered the floor and window stickers covered in the shape of stars and crowns.

The table itself was covered in various gifts, either handmade or prizes from the MonoMono Machine people perceived as fitting for him. They were all wrapped in a variety of ways but half of the wrapping jobs looked ugly as sin although.

But Ouma. . . he was grinning as wide as can be. His eyes sparkled like a child in a toy store. For the evening, he was seated at the head of the table -- the chair was even given plush red pillows and seats -- and everyone sat where they wanted. Perhaps, against better ideas, I took a seat to his immediate left. Shirogane proceeded to drape a tattered black cape on his shoulders and Angie placed a crown -- apparently made by hand -- on to of his head. The happiness on his face was infectious a I couldn’t help but smile back.

As Toujou walked to the kitchen to grab the plates of tonight’s dinner -- gyoza with a side of yakisoba, chikuwa cucumbers and a serving dish of soy sauce. -- I took care of moving the wrapped boxes to another table for the time being. Ouma pouted but I told him he could open them during cake time which made him smile once more.

Thankfully, dinner moved along calmly enough. Despite claiming the food was terrible, Ouma enthusiastically consumed his plate and even demanded another serving of gyoza, which Toujou happily served. Once he and everyone else was finished, she collected the plates, ran them to the kitchen and returned to the dining hall with a damp cloth. Quickly, she wiped down the table until it was spotless and proceeded to return to the kitchen.

As she took care of the dishes, everyone had a chance to talk among themselves. . . Surprisingly, Himiko approached me. She stared at me for what felt like forever, before she placed a hand on her hip and raised an index finger.

“. . . Your mana is familiar.” She comments. “Like my little sister from a past life. . . but, you’re different from her. . . This disguise aside.” I choke on air. Sweating just a bit, I glanced to the side to see if anyone was listening in. No one seemed to be, thank god.

“Excuse me.”

“Yep, you're blanketing your appearance with that veil of yours. I’m not **Super High School Level Witch** for nothing.” Well. Okay. That’s a first. . .

“ **Super High School Level** . . . **Witch**?” I repeat confused.

“Magic is real.” Himiko firmly states, furrowing her brows. “There's an entire government conspiracy trying to hide it!”

“Not. . . really true.” I sigh, brushing my bangs back. “Magic is a constant. The problem is the many lifeforms on numerous worlds do not have the potential to use that magic. . . It depends on the soul of the caster or if they realize that potential or have received education.” I trail off for a moment when I notice Himiko is staring at the clip in my hair.

The Blooming Hart.

On one of my missions, I learned the symbol that is my clan’s mon was once used as the symbol of a magic guild in another reality. Many people from that old reality -- long since erased -- were reincarnated into this new reality. Some of my lovers were not exempted from this rule when they were reborn on many planets throughout the multiverse.

Although those who were of ‘demon’ blood all ended up in the same place together -- strangely, they were not reborn, just relocated -- and they became quite a wellspring of knowledge of the old reality. Himiko’s words matched up with how they all treated me. I looked like a mirror reflection of a certain guild member they adored like a sister -- not so surprising when I was _created_ in her image by the very same woman -- but when discovering that I was not the one in the same woman, they still accepted me no less because that was what Blooming Hart meant.

A home to those who lost their previous one and an oath to protect those in need.

“What was your name?”

“Anma Koumaki, the Crimson Witch.”

“I see,” I humm. “Well, if you keep quiet about my conflicting appearance. I can tell you about your past life.” Himiko hums, genuinely contemplating my offer before nodding.

“Okay. There’s no **Chaos Magic** on you. So you’re good. . . if you're hiding your appearance, that’s probably for a good reason.” I bring a finger to my lip in thought.

“So, I wasn't imagining that. . .” I mutter.

Logically, I wouldn't imagine sensing **Chaos Magic**. My body reacts violently to it as the **Hope Magic** embodied in itself, thus making for a natural radar. On top of that, my natural sensing skills made my senses sharper. Despite this. . . I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. . .

It could only mean that something of a highly dangerous caliber was hiding on the campus. . . no only dangerous, but skilled. Skilled enough to avoid me. I had to look into this.

“Nyah, enough with that face. . .” Himiko mutters, lightly slapping her hands against my cheek. I blink. “It's a birthday. You’ll only worry everyone with that kind of face.” I let out an awkward laugh, quietly thanking her before walking away to place the presents at the table once more. Again, Ouma’s eyes began to sparkle with delight. I couldn't help but grin back.

Toujou emerges from the kitchen with the cake created by Maki, Kaito and myself, with eighteen lit candles and tray with sixteen stacked plates and a cake knife. Kaede rushes over to the light switch, dimming the room as the cake is place before Ouma and everyone gathers around him. On the count of three, we all break out into song singing ‘happy birthday’ as loudly and obnoxiously as possible.

To our utter surprise, he started to cry between his laughter. It was hard to tell what emotions he carried as his laughter was torn between amusement, joy and . . . loneliness. He tried to treat his own tears as a joke, claiming it was a lie. No one believed him. I stepped forward to wrap my arms around the short male, squeezing him as hard as I could.

“This is grooooss Kazehaya-chaaaan!!!”

“Accept my love you gremlin.”

“N O O O O!!!” Despite his complaints, he was smiling. . . and maybe because of the genuine emotions in his actions, others joined in in hugging him. Soon enough he was basically smothered by everyone else. He whined and complained  the whole time, but, he didn't reject it.

 

* * *

_It broke my heart because I realized how alone he probably was. . ._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gifts for the b o i 
> 
> Shirogane: Cape
> 
> Angie: Crown
> 
> Kiibo: Bubble Gum Bomb
> 
> Kaede: Autumn-Colored Scarf
> 
> Gonta: Ladybug Brooch
> 
> Himiko: Wearable Blanket
> 
> Toujou: Travel Journal
> 
> Amami: Fashionable Glasses
> 
> Maki: Cleansing Air Freshener
> 
> Tenko: Feelings of Ham,
> 
> Shuuichi: Milk Puzzle
> 
> Kaito: Plastic Moon Buggy Model
> 
> Ryouma: Hammock
> 
> Shinguji: Monkey's Paw
> 
> Miu: Fully-Automated Shaved Ice Machine


	4. {01} (Un)Ordinary Days {04}

 

* * *

 

**June 22nd; Day 03**

* * *

 

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

_“Good bearning~”_ The monokuma cubs chime from the TV Set. I groan, rolling over in my bed and pressing my face deeper into my pillows.

 _“This is a notice from Gifted Inmates Academy’s broadcasting department.”_ Monotaro mumbles, sounding just as tired as I was.

 _“Hey small fries, it’s 8AM! It’s bloody morning!”_ Monokid hollars. Goddamnit. Any chance I had of falling asleep again was destroyed. Grumbling, I sat up in my bed and glared at the TV Screen.

 _“Well then, I wonder if anyone is dead?”_ Monsuke ponders.

 _“Stooop. . .”_ Monophanie whimpers. _“If I see any gory corpses all of sudden, I’ll throw up again!”_

 _“Well, enjoy your new semester of killing today!”_ Monotaro beams, and with that, the TV turns off, indicating the end of the morning broadcast.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -  
** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

Irritated, I took and pillow and threw it across the room, lightly hitting the screen. With a huff, I fell backwards against the bed. I stared at the ceiling for several moments before attempting to organize my thoughts.

So, Himiko definitely has magic capabilities. Not only that, but she's a reincarnation of a Blooming Hart guildmage and she can see through my disguise. Maybe it’s apart of the magic she’s carried over from her past life. We’ll have to discuss that later. . .

There’s like, no ifs ands or buts, Ouma’s an orphan. The fact he was so confused by the simplest of concepts of a birthday party solidified it and thinking back on what I know about Japanese orphans is only another nail in that coffin. They’re terrible and abusive kinds of places, Ouma would have been an obvious target because of his height and lying would become his only method to cope when ignored by the adults of the orphanage.

Maki was clearly hiding something. She’s more than just a caretaker for little nursery kids. . . but what I cannot exactly tell and as if she’s gonna talk about that.

Kaito wants to fucking meet my godparents. I’m dying Squirtle.

The thought of Kaito causes my face to explode with red and I hide myself in my hands. He’s such a football and dofus but god, he makes me smile. My stupid football of a boyfriend that has the brightest smile in the universe and his eyes shined like the stars.

Oh GOD.

That thought is so fucking embarrassing . . .

Flustered, I roll out of bed and hit the floor. I lay there for several moments before letting out a deep sigh. I have to get up and get ready now. I take my purse from the nightstand and pull out two pill bottles. Walking across the room, I grabbed a fresh set of clothes from the closet. It was full of copies of the same outfit I arrived in.

I paused. The closet was similar to Toujou’s but there was a lack of a jewellery box or anything of the sort despite the fact I owned a good amount of jewellery. Oh well. I guess I could ask for one if I really needed it.

Pushing the thought aside, I entered the bathroom and prepared for the day. After a shower, I changed into my fresh set of clothes and downed my pills with a water from the sink. For the final touch, I pull my veil over my head and exit both the bathroom and my dorm.

Leaning against the wall by my door was Kaito. I break out into a smile, skipping over to him in order to press a kiss to his cheek. He smiles in return, kissing my forehead, and a thumb sweetly brushing against my cheek as he cupped my face in his hands. Hand in hand, we began our walk to the dining hall.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

Just as we were about to breach the doors, I noticed a young woman making quick steps in the same direction.  She was a bit on the short side, long light blue curls with streaks of pink tied into twin tails, and she was deathly pale. . . but the eyes framed with frameless glasses were a stark golden hue that made me uncomfortable.

Her clothes consisted of black loafers, long white stockings, a light blue pleated skirt and a rather formal -- but frilly -- white double breasted suit with six light blue buttons, layered over a white dress shirt with a light blue bow that was centered with a sapphire.

I could recognize her, but only from the photo in the MonoPad. **Ikiko Hekoten** , **Super High School Level Calligrapher**.

But. . . there was something wrong. . .

“Oh, Momota-kun! Good morning!” She greets with a smile on her nervous face. Looking my way, our eyes connect and I feel myself seize up. “Who is this?” I could barely feel Kaito’s hand on my shoulder as he gently rubbed it.

“This is Kiriri! My girlfriend!” He beams with pride but I couldn't concentrate on it. Jesus Christ. This isn’t the time to panic. She’s a student here. Like everyone else.

“Kiriri? Oh! You must mean Yuuki-chan!” She beams. “Shi-chan told me all about her!” But those eyes. Those eyes look too familiar and yet, I couldn't connect them to any memory. God. It felt like there was a rippling black hole in my gutt. I couldn't stay here.

I had to flee.

 

* * *

 

Inevitably, Kaito found me. . . but I couldn’t will myself to leave my spot. Something about Ikiko disturbed me, so I waved him off, telling him I was fine and I would eat later. He was reluctant to leave but he did listen to my request leaving me to sit under a tree in the courtyard of the school grounds. From where I sat I could see the Monocubs hard at work building what appeared to be a shinto shrine in the center of the courtyard.

Why was beyond me. . .

Fucking weird ass devil bears. . .

[ **\- Become Friends -  
** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“Oh, Kazehaya-san!” A voice gasps. Blinking, I look over the shrubbery that surrounded me. Standing on the other side of the bush was none other than Gonta, a big smile on his face and a bug catching net in hand. “Gonta is surprised to see you!”

“Oh, yeah me too. . .” I laugh with an awkward smile.

“Are you feeling well? Momota-kun said you were upset over something.”

No.

“Yeah.” I laugh, rubbing the back of my neck. A beat passes as Gonta smiles gently.

UGH.

My gay heart???

His smile is just, adorable. . . not to mention he was just a wonderful person in general. Huh. Thinking about it. . . He could probably help me with something and distract me from Ikiko for the moment. . .

“Actually, Gonta, can you help me?”

“Of course!” He beams, his eyes sparkling at the simple prospect of assisting me. “It is Gonta’s duty as a gentleman to help a lady!”

“Ah, okay. . .” Shyly I played with a strand of black hair. “Truthfully. . . I kinda got a phobia of. . . bugs. . .” Gonta immediately looks disheartened and almost betrayed.

“Kazehaya-san. . . I did not know! I was certain you were a good person! Was Gonta mistaking. . .?”

“. . .What?”

“Y-you do not hate bugs?! Do you?!” His tone was desperate. As if this was something he had to know, no matter what. Like it was a matter of life and death.

“It’s. . . not hate persay. . .” I mumble. “It’s more of I’m. . . kinda scared? My sister has an allergy to spiders and spider bites so whenever I saw one I would panic and worry about her, and that developed into a fear of them. And when I was a little girl, a horsefly bit me under the eye while I was petting a kitten. It hurt and I cried a lot, and it ended up irritating the bite. . . so, I don't have the best experience with bugs. I have a friend who has a beedrill. . .” I freeze realizing my error. . . but Gonta has failed to notice my fuck up. Thank Christ he has _no_ experience with Pokemon. “A **BEE** , and when I come to visit him, he usually hides it from me, which kinda sucks since he’s kinda had it forever and it's a very dear friend to him. I don't want him to keep doing that for my sake, so I want to stop. . . fearing bugs. . . and you’re the only one I can turn to for help Gonta.”

help me gonta ur my only ho

I immediately pressed my lips into a flat line, trying to suppress laughter that was begging to break free. Why did I think that. What the fuck.

“Gonta sees. . .” Gonta murmurs, regret rather obvious in his tone. “Kazehaya-san has had a very poor experience with bugs. . . that is truly upsetting.” But a smile graces his face once more. “But Gonta would be glad to help her! Gonta can teach her all about bugs and how to be less afraid of them!” Still smiling, he extends his hand to me and with a smile, I accept it. Strangely, he seemed a little surprised by this and is blushing a little. I fight the urge to clutch my chest.

. . .

Some time after Gonta and I relocated to the library, I could have sworn I heard a hellish scream of “GUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!” and possibly an explosion. I’m pretty sure Gonta heard it too as he looked around in confusion. We glanced to each other and simply shrugged, returning to textbook on the table. There were many interesting facts about bugs, and I was able to explain I was fine with some bugs, giving us from ground to work from. . . but unless I actually interacted with bugs I wasn't sure if this was going to go anywhere.

Also, Gonta seemed strangely flustered. I have no idea why. . . Actually, could it be the idea of being along with a ‘lady’ fluster him? It was rather endearing. . .  but also pointed out his complete lack of interactions with other people.

“Um, Gonta?”

“Yes, Kazehaya-san?”

“If I can, I’d like to help you in return.” He blinks then breaks into a wide grin.

“Gonta is happy to hear that! But it’s not necessary!” He smiles.

“I. . . You recall how I mentioned I participated in war, right?” I question, folding my hands. Gonta blinks, pulling on a thoughtful look.

“Yes, Gonta recalls . . .”

“After the war, I was elected queen of this kingdom and--”

“Eh. . .? Queen?” It took several moments for the words to sink in and when they did, Gonta was completely floored with shock. “Kazehaya-san is a queen?!”

“O-Only in title!” I fumble, as I watched Gonta’s face shuffle through various expressions of shock and distress. “I-I didn't _want_ it, but the people of Nevgelo elected me and the exiled prince to become the new rulers after the previous king and queen were dethroned for their cruelty and general shittiness. Jack primarily takes care of things while I have to work elsewhere!”

[ **\- Moon on the Water -  
** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

“Exiled?” Gonta repeats, a tad baffled. “Exiled means to be kicked out, right? Why did the people want an exiled prince as their new king?”

“Jack isn’t a bad person,” I sigh before breaking into an awkward smile. “I mean, he _was_ a bit rebellious as a child but that was more of him acting out for attention rather than being malicious.” I cross my arms and take a moment to gather my thoughts. “His parents were pretty cruel rulers. They didn’t care much for him beyond the concept of having an heir but the moment he called him out on their terrible methods, they exiled him from the kingdom. . . and mercilessly killed his first wife. . .” Gonta looked _horrified_ by this reveal of information. Hell, he looked like he wanted to _cry_ in Jack’s behalf.

“But why? Gonta thought parents are supposed to love their children! This is so cruel!” He weeps. I look down to my hands, playing with my fingers.

“Yeah. Parents -- family even -- are supposed to love their children. . . but there are times they do not. They selfishly hurt their children, exploit and abuse them. . . That’s all bullshit.” I've seen the results of how these ideals _ruin_ children. Ruin their abilities to trust, to grow, to be happy. So many of them feel an all consuming fear, that lead to anger or fear -- even emotional numbness. I detest it so much. . .

“But their cruelty didn’t end there. .  . They waged war simply because they lusted for more land and power. So Jack organized a rebellion against his parents and I worked as his tactician.” I did much more than just that. I did fight but never killed. Only disarmed and terrorized the enemy into submission.

“It didn’t matter _who_ died or suffered in the line of war for them. Not even a church that was home to orphans and housed injured rebels and their men as a safe zone.” I remember the day Demxl was found at our base camp. He was stealing from our food reserves because the church he was living in was packed with recovering soldiers and thus meals were smaller than ever. Jack and I intended to return him home only to find that the church was burned to the ground. Everything and everyone Demxl knew was gone. . . and a five year old boy was left with nothing but grief and guilt.

I ended up adopting him and became far too acquainted with him crying out in his sleep, begging to know why he -- a selfish child -- lived when everyone else died and spells of apathy and self-hate in the realm of the conscious.

I clenched my fist and grit my teeth. Despite my efforts, tears rolled down my cheeks but I didn’t even notice them until Gonta started to wipe them away with a handkerchief  I blink, touching my face to confirm that I genuinely was crying but being aware of it only made me want to cry more.

“Ah, sorry. . .” I let out an awkward laugh as Gonta takes one of my hands into his free one. It’s huge. Utterly predictable and yet, it brings a strange sense of comfort. He gives it a gentle squeeze. Gonta is a towering young man and from what I heard he scared quite a few people when they first encountered him. But his heart was big and full of nothing but love and trust for others as he believes in the best in everyone.

“It is fine Kazehaya-san. . . You have seen so much. . . but you keep pushing forward! Kazehaya-san has so much strength! Much more than Gonta!” I blush just a little, a chuckle managing to escape.

“I don’t know about that. . . I just. . . do the best I can to help others. That’s exactly why I do everything I do. . .” My voice trails off and we’re both left in an awkward silence but neither of us attempt to pull away. Slowly, remember _why_ I brought up any of this. “Jack's a good man,” I softly murmur, thinking of the man I loved, waiting for me back home along with the rest of my clan. He really was. . . He always put the safety of others before his own -- to the point he lost an eye for me -- his smile was kind and gentle and his heart was full of warmth and courage.

“Despite knowing the harassment he could face by fighting against his parents, he still took action. It’s because he grew up so much from a spoiled misbehaving brat into a young man that fights for those in need, he was chosen to be my king in an era of peace.” Nervously, I scratch my cheek. “Er, so the point I was trying to get at, when we inherited the throne, we both went through a number of lessons on how to be proper rulers. I would like to tell you what I learned from observing Jack’s lessons.” Gonta blinks owlishly. . . and it’s stupidly cute. I quietly giggle, holding onto his hand.

“Eh. . .? Kazehaya-san would teach Gonta how to be a proper gentleman?”

“If you’d like. . .” He pokes the bottom of his lip, pondering on the thought for several moments before nodding his head.

“As long as Gonta is not a problem.”

“You aren't!” I smile. I gently take my hand from Gonta’s and get up to my feet. “Now, we can discuss this at another time. I need to organize a lesson plan. . . or something like that to make sure I’m on track and stuff.”

“Gonta sees. . . Perhaps Gonta should do the same. . .” He muses, poking at his lip. I give him yet another smile before parting ways with him.

 

* * *

 

“You did _what_?”

It turns out the sounds Gonta and I hear were not our imagination. Instead, it was Kaito being an absolute _idiot_ .  Despite the rules saying not to bring harm to Monokuma, he tried to grab the goddamn bear and in response, the cubs appeared in these suits of armor called ‘Exisal’ and Monotaro’s actually ended up _crushing_ Monokuma, thus causing him to scream before exploding.

“I killed Monokuma!” Kaito beamed proud as can be. Of course, without my knowledge. . . he has no idea of the fact there is no such one Monokuma. I never got the chance to explain this. . . And I feel like the biggest shit to even mention this.

[ **\- Heartless Journey -  
** ](https://youtu.be/YhBFIjDybw4)

“Kaito. . .”

“Don't worry about it! I’m fine!” He continues to beam, then goes off on a tangent about how we’ll escape and how we can go see my godparents in Paris. I’d love to do that. . . but. . . that isn't possible. It’s not for more than one reason.

“Kaito!” I shout a little louder, causing him to sputter to a stop. He can see the distress in my expression which has him worrying in an instant.

“H-Hey, Kiriri, what’s wrong. . .?”

“There isn't one.” He blinks, confused.

“What are you talking about? The cubs said they have only one body.”

“And you’d believe that?” I ask incredulously. I then let out a sigh as I began to rub my arm. “Kaito, don't you remember? Back in the gymnasium, when Monokuma was brought up for the first time, I asked ‘which one’?”

“. . .I. . .” He pauses, awkwardly rubbing at his chin with the back of his hand. His face twists into a grimace. “Yeah. . . I do. . . Are there really _more_ of that bastard out there. . .?” My grip on my arm tightens uncomfortably.

“. . .Yeah. They come in a lot of shapes and sizes. . . but I never saw one _talk_ until I arrived here. . .”

“Shit.” Kaito mutters. “. . . What does this mean for us?”

“I don't know how long it takes, but a new body will probably be manufactured for Monokuma. . .” I sigh. What is the next move from here? I haven't found my **mission objective** so I can't exactly leave and it's impossible for any of them to complete **Death Despair Road**. . .

. . .There had to be some manufacturing place within the grounds to make a new Monokuma. If I could locate and disable it before a new Monokuma was created I could prevent him from tormenting us further. . . but to make a new Monokuma in the school. . . wouldn’t that mean there was a **Mastermind** among us?

 

* * *

 

Misery was a heavy but familiar feeling in Kaede’s chest at this point in time. It’s been days while she and the others have been trapped in this terrible school. . . She’s done so much to try and keep everyone afloat, but with Monokuma gone -- most likely temporarily -- she feels as if something broke the moment she tried to point that out.

Just about everyone bared their claws and spewed hatred to her for ‘raining on their parade’. . . but Amami-kun is right. Someone has to be controlling Monokuma. Even Kazehaya-san said ‘which one’ when referring to Monokuma when she first arrived.

As much as they wanted it to be. . . . **The killing game wasn't over**.

Not yet anyway.

**DING DONG**

Kaede lifts her head, baffled by the sound of the intercom ringing. She quickly wipes the tears from her eyes and approaches the door. To her surprise, she finds Saihara on tn the other side of the door.

“Akamatsu-san . . . Are you okay?” He gently asks. She puts on a smile, as if to play innocent.

“Yeah, I’m okay Saihara-kun. I’m not sad or anything. . .”

“You’re not wrong.” He mumbles, sweating nervously just a bit. She blinks. “The underground passage was a trap. It was to make us come together in the name of ‘hope’ and then pushes us into despair when we fail.”

“You. . . You’re probably right. . .” She murmurs. “But. . . I just wanted everyone to escape. Together. At least it’s over now. . . right?” She wanted to believe yes, it was over. . .but Shuuichi looked rather uncertain of that. Or, more accurately, perfectly certain that it wasn't over.

“. . . Akamatsu-san, I understand your feelings.” Strangely, Saihara’s voice is rather firm but there’s a soft smile on his face. “In that case, I’ve decided to believe in you. Kaede blinks, completely taken by surprise.

“. . .What? Believe in me?” He nods his head.

“There’s something I need to tell you no matter what. Can you come to the library with me?” Once more, Kaede blinked owlishly.

What could Saihara want to show her. . .?

 

* * *

 

**June 23rd; Day 04**

 

* * *

 

Today’s morning announcement was nothing but Monodam sitting on the couch for two full minutes of silence before the TV shut off. Rolling my eyes I got out of bed and proceeded to prepared for a new day. Like yesterday, Kaito waited by the door of my room and I took his hand. . . but today, his expression was a bit exhausted.

I paused, gently pressing a kiss to his lips. His eyes went wide, apparently taken back by my actions.

“Don't worry, I’ll make sure everything goes fine.” I smile gently. A smile suddenly splits across his face as he wraps his arms around me, trapping me in a hug. Softly, he whispers an apology for looking so gloomy.

[ **\- Cool Morning -  
** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

Outside the dining hall I spotted Kiibo. I waved to him with a smile but he seemed to be lost in thought. Kaito ended up tapping him on the head.

“CEASE AND DESIST!” Kiibo shouts, flailing his limbs about in distress. Kaito took an immediate step back and started to whistle in an attempt to look innocent. I gave him a face as Kiibo started to calm down.

“Ah! Kazehaya-san, Momota-kun. . . Did Ouma-kun just run by?!” He demands urgently.

“If you're asking who tapped you while you were deep in thought, It was him.” I explained pointing to Kaito. He lets out a loud and dramatic gasp, as if he was offended that I just outed him to Kiibo. Kiibo’s pale face flushes a light pink hue.

“Ah. . .  I apologize, I thought it was Ouma-kun attacking me again. . .”

“Does he do that often. . .?” I find myself asking.

“Unfortunately yes.” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“That is correct. . .” Kiibo adds, gazing at his hand with a forlorn expression. “but, it seems he’s stopped in your presents Kazehaya-san. . .”

“Huh?” I blink in utter confusion. Kaito hums thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

“I donno, but, he _was_ deflated when you weren't around yesterday morning. . .”

Sounds fake but okay.

Instead of that lame quip, a laugh escape me instead. Kokichi Ouma is such a complex little mess. . . but I would be lying if I said I didn't want to know more about him. A good string of events wouldn't have lead him on the path to a supreme leader after all.

I wanted to know who the gremlin was exactly.

“Still, why are you hanging around out here?” I ask.

“I was wondering. . . when will someone come pick us up.” I blink.

“Huh?”

“Ah, perhaps you didn't hear? It’s been approximately one day has passed since Monokuma’s demise, yet nothing has changed about our situation, right?”

Oh **_FUCK ME_ **

I have to explain this everyone won't I. . .

“What. . . What if? This place is. . .” Kiibo’s synthetic voice trembles for a moment. “For example, a place not even shown on the map, a place only Monokuma knows about . . . Nobody. . . can take us home, can they?” My fingers wrap around the strap of my purse and I point a finger at his face.

“Then, we have to make our own way home, won’t we?” I put on a smile, and hope nothing of my expression gives away how I feel on the inside. . . Thankfully, Kiibo seems content with my words and begins to ramble about his professor and how the man is most certainly looking for him and with his skills and technology, so it’s only a matter of time before they’re found. With a beaming smile on his face, Kiibo entered the dining hall.

“You didn't tell him. . .?” Kaito questions in a soft tone.

“How do I tell him there’s more than one bear?” I sigh, crossing my arms. “I hate being the bearer of bad news.”

“. . . Was that a pun?” Kaito questions slowly. It takes a moment for it to dawn upon me what I said. I place my face into my hands and groan.

“It wasn't intentional.” He breaks into a loud boisterous laugh, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to his body. As we took our seats and Toujou served us I noticed that everyone cheerfully spoke about how great they all felt now that Monokuma was gone. My will to eat was dead. Holding my head in one hand, I turned my face away from everyone, my face stuck an awkward expression that screamed ‘welp’. Kaito reached under the table and took my hand, providing me with some comfort through this awkward moment.

But the situation only seemed to turn for the worse when Kaede arrived with Shuuichi with tow. The room took an unsettling air about it but when she said nothing, people went back to talking among themselves.

“What the fuck.” I whisper softly.

“Things . . . didn't end well yesterday.” Kaito takes his other hand to rub the back of his head. “Fuck, I should have said something to her. . .”

“Well, it’s not like there’s anything wrong with things ending this way.” Amami comments with a smile on his face. I open my mouth, trying to find the will to say something. . . but I’m beaten to the punch.

“But. . . is everything really over?” Kaede asks softly. I glanced her way to find a shocked look on her face. If I had to guess, she didn't intend to say that out loud. All eyes turn to her and she fumbles, continuing forward. “I mean, it’s just too good to be true. I can’t believe things would end here. . .” Her words are met with an uneasy silence and she glances away.

“I have a question but. . .” Shinguuji questions in a low tone and all eyes turn to him. “can it be, you want to continue the killing game?”

 _Oh my_ ** _fucking_** **_god_** _._

The reaction was instantaneous. It’s like he dropped an entire nuke in the middle of the dining hall. Everyone is suddenly tense and ready to fight. Both Kaede and Shuuichi look _horrified_ that anyone would suggest that. She tries to reason with everyone and explain that's not what she meant nor is what she wants but no one is having any of it.

“SHUT UP!” Kaito shouts. I lift my head to find him standing on his two feet, a look of fury on his face. “She has every right to be concerned! There isn't one fuckin’ Monokuma!”

_OH MY GOD KAITO_

I place my face in my hands and withhold the urge to scream. I try so hard. . . but Jesus _Christ_ Kaito. There was a better way to gently bring this to everyone’s attention.

“What are you talking about?” Maki questions, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Kiriri has seen a bunch before!” Kaito continues, apparently failing to see he's more or less thrown me into an open fire and simultaneously under the bus at the same time.

“Before. . .?” Kiibo repeats.

“What, so you're saying the fuckin' outside world is covered in them!?” Miu demands, shooting me a sharp look.

“I plead the fifth.” I mutter. She furrows her brows, stomping up to me in order to grab me by the front of my shirt. I keep my expression impassive while Kaito looks furious.

“Don't fuckin’ pussyfoot around this, Kazetitties!” The only change in my expression is furrowed brows. Kazetitties? Really? “You can tell space dick about your adventures outside but you wont tell us!?”

“Ah, perhaps. . . she didn’t tell him?” Shuuichi offers. 

“The fuck does that mean?!” Miu demands. He flinches slightly at her booming voice and he starts to sweat under scrutiny as all eyes turn to him.

“More accurately, she _told_ him, but he didn't _ask_ . The rule states _we_ cannot ask her anything but nothing about her dropping hints or giving details at random."

“Basically.” I sigh. “Now, if you could let--”

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -  
** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“Oh. I guess that’s a loophole I didn't think of when writing up the rule.” Monokuma’s voice was behind me. A shriek escapes me. My body responds in kind by throwing myself forward, into the arms of the person closest to me, which happened to be Miu. She sputters uselessly, her face flushed red as I wrapped my legs around her in a panic. Pure gibberish is flying out of her mouth now as she stumbles backwards and crashes into Kiibo, who attempts to help her maintain her balance. . . and we uselessly fall to the ground in a heap. “Disgusting! If you three want to carry out such gross acts, do it in one of your rooms!”

I tactfully reply by lifting a middle finger.

“Fuck off! Get run over by a truck, you piece of shit!” Miu shouts, somehow managing to pull herself together. . . for at least five seconds before she starts to cling to me in fear of Monokuma striking back.

“What.” Is all Ouma has to say on this matter. Just. A flat What.

“HYAAAAA!!” Tenko screams in terror. “GO AWAY!!”

“How rude!” Monokuma exclaims. “I come all this way after being repaired to greet my students and _this_ is how you treat me!” He suddenly jumps up on the table, knocking over just about everything as he makes his way over to Ikiko. She looks downright terrified as the bear stops before her.

And to my utter disgust. . . he starts to _lick her face_.

“I'M SO GLAD MY LITTLE STUDENT IS FEELING HEALTHY ONCE MORE!”

“THIS IS SO GROSS! PLEASE STOP!” She cries, pleading for help.

“What the fuck.” I mutter out loud, completely caught off guard by his actions. He stops licking her and looks directly at me with. . . something close to a smile. . .

“Do not worry, I can give all my students kisses if they’re feeling left out.” Not so surprisingly, everyone shouted no. Monokuma let out a disappointed huff, making his way to the center of the table. “You’re all so terrible! I hate caring for high schoolers! It’s so much easier to **make money** off elementary school children!”

What the _FUCK_ did that even mean???

[ **\- Good Bearning! -  
** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

“Geez, you’re so noisy~” Monotaro complains as he and his siblings appear in tow. “What have you guys been clamoring about. . .” He notices Monokuma standing on the table. He loudly gasps, placing his plush paws on his cheeks. “Wait, whaaaaaat!? Our dead poppa is actually alive!”

“That’s some old school anime bullshit!” Monokid exclaims

“But why didn’t you tell us?” Monophanie questions. “We were slowly cooking up your remains thinking you died, you know?”

why

I mean, I understand cremation but did she really have to use the word ‘cooking’?

“But like, his remains are being cooked over there, so how is poppa also over here!?” Monokid screams in horror. I have no idea where ‘over there’ refers to . . . Are they just cremating his metal body somewhere on the campus. . . and left the body unattended somewhere else to check up on us? “Uwaaaah! Which one’s the real poppa!?”

“No, both of them are real.” Monokuma states in a rather bored and flat tone. As if he’s annoyed that his own children do not understand what’s going on. Regardless, Monotaro looks confused at his father’s explanation. He tilts his head and puts a paw to his mouth.

“Huh? But didn’t poppa tell us? That there’s only one of each of us?”

He meant only you

“Aah. . . I meant for you guys. But I have a proper spare.”

Of course.

“Why does only poppa get a spare, and not us!?” Monokid screams in protest

“Isn’t it obvious. . .?” Monokuma hums, tilting his head. “You think a ‘he was actually alive’ kind of plot twist would be approved of in this day and age!?”

What the fuck is he talking about?

I swear to Christ. This bear is insane. . .

“I see . . .” Monosuke muses. “That means. . . there’s a machine in this school that can manufacture more pops.”

“I figured as much. . .” I muttered under my breath.

“And if you just run that machine with a press of a button, you can produce as many of pops as you want and--”

Monokuma abruptly grabs his children and one by one, he slathers them in a thick layer of saliva as he proceeds to lick them. Each and everyone of them cry out in protest and disgust as Monokuma exclaims this must be done for the sake of a heartwarming reunion.

Well. . .

That's one way to stop someone from giving away a secret. . .

“Sorry. . .” Shirogane murmurs, her hand on Ikiko’s shoulder to comfort her distressed and disgusted friend. “I’m so shocked I can’t do a proper reaction. . .”

“Are we. . .” Ikiko begins slowly, her voice trembling. “Are we going to continue the killing game. . .?”

“C-Continue. . .?” Kaede trembles. “Continue. . . the killing game. . . ?

“. . . It’s too tiresome.” Himiko mutters.

“This is a bigger problem than just being tiresome! Don’t make a face like some smashed up plastic bottle!” Miu shouts, finally shoving me off her body. She’s up on her feet, shaking her fist at Himiko but she doesn't even seem to _care._

“What the fuck does that even mean. . .?” I question softly as Kiibo helps me back to my feet. I thank him and brush the dirt from my clothes. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Ouma with a distressed expression.

“W-What. . . the killing game continues. . .” He mumbles. He suddenly puts on a smile and cheerfully beams. “Welp, it’s not boring so. . . that’s fine too.” That's some fake ass excitement if I’ve seen any.

“NO! THAT'S NOT OKAY!” Tenko boom, her face looking blue and sweaty.

“So, that’s how it’s going to be. . .” Amami mutters, sweat trickling down the side of his brow. “If we want to end this. . . We have to take down Monokuma _and_ the person behind him.”

I bite the urge to make a quip about how that was obvious and it didn't require a rocket scientist to figure that out.

“I expected a spare,” Toujou sighs. “However, I did not predict it would be built within the academy. Either way, I assumed this would happen. . . This is a rather unsurprising development.”

So you let people get pissy at Kaede while you had this doubt the whole time???

toujou pls

I honestly expected better from her. . .

[ **\- Wonderful Story -  
** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

“Did you expect this NEXT SURPRISING DEVELOPMENT?!” Monokuma proceeds to clear his throat and proudly spreads his arms out. “I am pleased to announce an **additional motive**!”

This is gonna be good.

“W-What?!” Kaede gasps.

“As you know, it’s the fourth since we got together! However, a time limit is now in effect! If there is no murder by **the fifth day** , **10 PM**. . . every student forced to participate in the Killing Game will die! Mauled to shreds by countless Monokumas from the rumored Monokuma-making Machine! So unless you wanna look like the smeared remains of road kill, it’s time for you all to get serious!”

“T-Time limit?” Gonta gasps. His face has taken on a sickly color and he’s sweating rather profusely. As others voiced their disbelief. I brought a finger to my lip in a thoughtful gesture. Monokuma didn't say everyone. He said everyone **forced** to play the Killing Game will die. That meant my theory that someone was collaborating with him was still holding up. I pulled away from my thoughts the moment Monokuma criticized everyone for coming to the academy but refusing to participate in the killing game.

. . .Didn't everyone _not_ have a choice in that?

“You're the one who brought us here, you bastard!” Kaito shouts, clenching his fists.

“Wait!” Monotaro shouts, raising his little paw into the air. “Quick question, father! What do you mean by ‘countless Monokumas’? I thought we were up when time ran out.”

“HELL YEAAAAH!! LET US EXISALS DO THEIR THING!” Monokid shouts, slamming his guitar against the ground, breaking it. Like usual, he immediately pulls a new one out. Monokuma sighs, almost like an actual concerned parent.

“I’d rather not. I’d feel bad if you guys tired yourselves out. . .”

“But if we let the Exials get popular, we could have a real **cash cow** on our hands, y’know?” Monosuke grins, pulling out some yen bills to make a point. “The merchandising rights alone would make us richer than sultans.”

. . .What are they talking about. . .? A **cash cow.** . .? **Merchandise**? How the hell would they get a cash cow from using their. . .

“I see. . .” I say out loud, my eyes darkening and narrowing at Monokuma.

“You see. . .?” Monokuma curiously repeats

“I see you’re a real piece of shit.”

“Why are you still here? Why are any of you bastards still here. . . ?” Monokuma asks. I give him a deadpan look. We were eating before he interrupted all of us with his shit. Why else would still be here. To fucking eat obviously. Christ.

“We never left!” Kaede shouts, a terrified squeak escaping her.

“Why are you doing this?!” Kiibo demands. “How much suffering do you want us to endure?!” Monokuma hums, tilting his head.

“I see. . .If you’re all suffering, you should hurry and begin the killing game.” The bear laughs. . .but the sound it makes is so unexpected. The laugh. . . **that girl** had. . .  The girl that murdered my dear friend and plunged my other friends into utter and endless despair. . . But why would he. . .? “Then you guys can say bye-bye to the suffering!”

“Y-You bastard. . .!” Kaito snarls.

“Don't make a big deal about it.” Monokuma waves off. “It’s not like you know each other. You’re all strangers! Just do it!

“Plus, you can still get the **First Blood Perk**! First come, first served!” Monosuke laughs.

“But. . . killing games are gory right? I'm feeling queasy already. . ..” Monophanie softly adds with a whimper.

“Hell yeah!” Monokid shouts, pumping his guitar. “If those shits don’t kill, they’ll face total annihilation! That’s way more gory!”

“I see . . . On the contrary, if it was that over the top, I might be able to watch in spite of it all. . .” She murmurs before a smile splits across her face. “As I thought, killing is bad! It’s much better to die together!”

“Shut up and step the FUCK back!” Miu screeches. However, her shoulders are trembling just a bit, pointing out that she’s just as afraid as anyone else.

“. . .Well, it’s your choice what to do next, so you’re free to do what you want.” Monokuma chuckles. “You can happily die together or survive on your own. It’s aaaaaall up to you.” with that said, Monokuma vanishes from the room with a loud cackle.

“Man! Father is so in the zone!” Monotaro beams. “Even I’m getting irritated from listening to him!”

“Hell yeah! Let’s toss back some honey to celebrate Papa Kuma’s return!” Monokid shouts, playing a few cords of his guitar. “Yo, Monodam! Prepare us some honey with high levels of purity! Pour some honey on meeee! In the name of killing. . .!” But Monodam has nothing to say. Only a hard stare and silence.

“So long! Bearwell!” The cubs cheer as they vanish.

“This is bullshit . . .!” I mutter.

Super Bullshit 64.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one is asking but those experiences with bugs are actual things that have happened to me


	5. {01} (Un)Ordinary Days {05}

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -  
** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

“What are we going to do. . .?” Shirogane questions in a whimper. Beside her Ikiko pats her arm to try and calm her down. It’s a pretty useless effort as Shirogane continues to look terrified. “Night time in two days. . . it will be here in an instant.”

“I-I don't wanna. . .” Ouma trembles. “I . . .I don't wanna die yet!” Ouma’s words cause the feelings of uneasiness and despair sink deeper into them all. The prideful and mischievous Supreme Leader was panicking and clearly fearing for his own life, causing the room to fall silent with a terrible tension now.

“ **First Blood Perk**. . .” I question with a rather puzzled expression to break the silence. “What is that. . .?”

“Gonta doesn’t know either. . .”

“I didn't say anything because I didn't think it was really necessary,” Kaito begins with a sigh. “But, that bastard said if someone commits a murder. . .they can leave without a trial.”

“. . . That makes no sense.”

It makes no sense because . . . the way he talks about making money off us and merchandising, he needs us to live long enough. Is this **First Blood Perk** a ploy? Or is he really that willing to throw us into the abyss?

“Well, the fuck we do Kazetitties?!” Miu demands in a panic. I blink. Apparently the conversation continued -- debates about what to do and what their next step should logically be -- while I was lost in thought and now everyone was looking at me with a rather imploring expressions.

“Huh. . .?”

“You have experience, correct?” Shinguuji inquires. “Without assistance from you, our options are narrowed down to either we fight and die. . . or die after the time limit.”

“. . .Experience. . .That’s not the word I’d use. . .” I laugh hollowly, gazing at my hand. “I was thirteen at the time. I just ran away. It’s a goddamn miracle I was able to do that. I can explain the differences between the types of Monokumas, but that’s all.” I pause, crossing my arms. “At this point, my game plan is to find the machine and fuck it up. I have no idea what an Exisal is, but it would be next on my list of things to fuck up. . .”

“So. . . you intend to fight back?” Shuuichi asks softly, looking a bit shocked at my plans.

“I have no intention to sit on my ass and let innocent people get hurt.” I sigh. “It goes against my code. If I can do something, I’ll do it. After all, I’m not the same thirteen year old that that ran away from her problems.”

“B-But that’s dangerous!” Kaede frets. I laugh rather loudly.

“That’s all the more reason I have to do it.”

“Yeah and I’ll help you do it!” Kaito beams.

“Tenko shall as well!” She shouts.

“Gonta too! Gonta will help protect the others!”

“No.” I flatly state. It’s not so shocking that I’m met with various looks of shock and surprise

“No?” Kaito repeats.

“Yes, no.” I sigh. “I can't involve my lovers or innocent people in the kind of bullshit I’m about to do. It’s _my_ job and _my_ responsibility. I don't want to see the people I care for get hurt.”

“Well, if Kazehaya-chan can handle it, I’ll be leaving!” Ouma laughs, shuffling past me on the way to the door. There was no way he wasn't freaking out. His motions and the quiver in his voice was obvious to me but Amami blinks, wondering out loud where Ouma was going. “To my room! I am a busy man with an organization to lead. I have business to attend to in my room.” With that said, he exits the dining hall.

“Haha. . .alone in your bedroom. . .?” Miu mumbles. She’s nervously playing with her hands as words tumble out of her mouth and her knees shake in fear. “He’s asking us to kill him. . . ”

“Don't say that.” I glare, slapping at her hands. She lets out a tiny shriek.

“W-Why did you do that? I wou-wouldn't ever do something as uncivilized as killing! I’m going to bed!” And she too ran out of the room.

“W-Wait! Iruma-san! D-Don't get any weird ideas!” Kaede shouts after her.

“She won't. . . . she won't actually do anything. . .?” Kiibo timidly questions.

“If she tries I’ll slap her good.” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips.

“S-Slap her?!” Kaede gasps.

“Not literally. Verbally at least.”

“If an murder was going to happen. . . it would be a robot murder. . .” Himiko mumbles. Kiibo tenses, squeaking out that would be terrible. And yet, despite all the tension in the air. . . Shinguuji chuckles.

“We all agree killing is wrong. . . but why? Why would killing be wrong?”

what

Everyone that was remotely close to him immediately took a step away but he simply chuckled once more.

“Of course, I understand it’s a violation of the law. But laws are just rules conveniently created by humans, right? This place is secluded from such rules. . . In which case, I believe there’s no reason to uphold them so faithfully. . .”

“Don't say such stupid shit like that!” Kaito sweats. “Even kids have the common sense to know that killing is wrong!” Shinguuji narrows his eyes, as if to challenge a rather normal and logical comment.

“. . . Even for your own survival?” He muses. “We’re guinea pigs trapped in an experiment, so to speak. . . We have no option but to do whatever it takes to survive.”

“Cut the crap! While it may be true, a murder must be committed for the rest of us to survive, that doesn't make the act right!” I glare, pointing an accusing finger his way. “Even in these conditions, your soul will be judged for your crimes of a needless violence and sentenced to work as a ‘guardian angel’ to earn your right to be reborn again! Besides! Murder -- unfair, unjust and sudden deaths -- only cause the souls of the deceased to suffer! On top of that, if the soul is distressed enough, it can take form of a horrible beast to torment the living! I refuse to let that shit happen!” The dining hall was silent for several long moments before Shinguuji chuckled once more.

“Ah. . . I see, this is your religion’s views on death and rebirth. Fascinating.”

I cannot _BELIEVE_ that’s all he took from my words.

“Please do not worry Kazehaya-san. I have no intention to take a life. . . I only wish to observe the beauty of human beings and the depths of their sins. Don’t fear me.”

A line like that would only make people fear you dude. . . Christ.

And yet, one by one, people flowed out of the dining hall -- giving excuses of what they wanted to do before their unfortunate demise -- leaving not even half of the group behind. I let out a sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. Well, this all felt awkward now. I had to get my shit together and figure out _where_ the Monokuma making machine was. I let out a sigh.

“Sorry, I’ll have to leave now. There’s a lot of ground to cover on this campus. . .”

“Ah, alright Kazehaya-san. . .” Kaede sighs. She gives me an awkward smile and a wave. I smile back, a bit more cheerfully, and nod my head. Approaching Kaito, I lean up and kiss him on the cheek.

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Ah geez, I won't. . .” He sighs. I notice he’s trembling a bit. Was he scared? No. That didn't seem right. . . The light in his eyes showed he had the utmost faith in me. . . so why was he shaking? Was it. . . the talk about ghosts and spirits? I laugh quietly to myself as give him yet another kiss on the cheek and I finally take my leave.

However, as I’m halfway out the door, I hear Amami ask something rather odd.

“Does the term **Ultimate Hunt** ring a bell for anyone?”

. . .

The **Ultimate Hunt**. . .?

What the fuck is that. . .? It’s become clear that Amami has memory problems, like everyone else, but his are far more specific than others in certain aspects. Like he can't recall his talent. . . and yet, he can recall something as specific as an **Ultimate Hunt**? For a guy to introduce himself with the line ‘I’m not suspicious’ that sure is a suspicious line.

. . .

No. I don't have time to think about this.

I have less than forty-eight hours to find this Monokuma making machine, stop the Existals and find an exit for the others.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Darkness Time -  
** ](https://youtu.be/Hs_QtQkxpFE)

Thus far, my search has been fruitless. It’s frustrating. There has to be a hint. Some indication. _Something_. If I don’t figure something out soon I’ll have to start breaking into locked sections of the campus. The rules do say, as a student, I can explore as I see fit, but would destroying the campus make problems?

Huffing under my breath, I stormed down the hallway. . .but paused as I noticed something off. There was most certainly a second set of feet following me. Huffing, I clutched the strap of my skirt a little tighter and continued walking.

. . .

The feet still followed.

I curse under my breath as I take off running as fast as my feet can carry me. The footsteps follow with a fervent intensity.  Okay. Yeah. There's no way around this. I’m being followed. Taking a quick glance around I formulate an idea.

I take a sharp turn to run towards the tall wall that surrounded some unlit building on the campus and leap into the air. Thanks to years of training, and the very fact I have enhanced strength, I flew to a high into the air and over the wall. My impact with the ground caused debris to fly into the air and as the dust settled I reached into my purse to pull out my cell phone. I quickly yank on one of the keychains, transforming the phone into my perfered weapon of choice, a chainsaw.

With a tug on another keychain, the weapon revved to life. Of course I have no intention to use it, but I have nothing against scaring the shit out of someone with it.

“Kazehaya-san! Calm down!”

. . .

“. . .Amami-kun?” I question. Narrowing my eyes I tug on the two keychains, turning off the engine and returning my phone to normal. As activate the flashlight function I look around, trying to determine where his voice came from. It sounded like it was coming from . . .above?

Did he. . .

Did he just climb that wall?

Moving the flashlight along the wall only proved that to be true. Amami had climbed over the wall and took a fearless jump from the edge. He lands before me and proceeds to dust himself off. To my utter surprise, he wasn't winded in the slightest. Does he climb often or something. . .?

“Amami-kun, what the fuck?” I question dimming the light just a bit not to blind him as it shined on him. He laughed without a care.

“I could ask the same thing! I call out to you and you didn't respond, not even once, and then you take off running!” He pauses to put on a . . . rather dangerous but thoughtful expression. “You know, most preachers don't jump to heights like you can or carry around chainsaws.”

“It’s not like I’ve been a preacher all my life.” I defend with a huff. “I did a lot of track and field beforehand. And the chainsaw was just a sound effect on my phone for emergencies.” He blinks, his the air around him returning to normal and his expression was nothing short but a cute look of shock.

“Sound effect?”

“Well, most people would stop pursuing a person if the had a weapon. . .”

“I suppose that's true.” Amami hums, placing his hands on his hips. “Alright, enough beating around the bush.”

what

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -  
** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

“I believe, I can help you.” He says this with the utmost confidence and I’m not sure how to respond to it, other than a simple: What. “You see, I have the **Survivor's Perk**.”

“The _what_?” I deadpan in utter confusion.

“To be frank, I don't get it either, but it seems,” With a rather serious expression, he crosses his arms and looks me dead in my eyes. “I have access to some rather vital information. A map of the entire campus, including the floors we don't have access to just yet.” . . .The MonoPad’s map updates with each discovery of the campus we make as an individual. However, we are currently barred off from most of the second floor and beyond it. . . But why would Amami have a **Survivor’s Perk**? Does that mean. . . he’s done a killing game before?

Christ.

How fucked up and mocking is it to survive this kind of shit, only to be thrown into it again. . . How does that kind of shit even happen? Still. . .

“. . .Why are you telling me this?” I slowly question. “Most people wouldn't share this kind of information.”

“Ah, but _we_ aren't like most people.” He muses. “I hate to be so forward, but despite your words and claims. You are not a preacher.” Gently, his hand reaches forward to brush a curl of black hair behind my ear. He moves for the veil and I grab him by the wrist, giving him a glare. He backs away, lifting his hands up as a sign of surrender.

“Sorry, I just noticed that you’re too attached to your veil and it’s not religious purposes.” I have no answer, I simply stare back, brows furrowed in annoyance. “I saw it. Or rather, I saw what was _under_ it as you leapt into the air. Pale skin and beautiful locks that shimmered like stardust.” He smiles innocently, and yet, amused. “Haha, you and Momota-kun would be a real picture perfect couple if you shared your secret with him! A beautiful couple born from the cosmos!” I flush red and point an accusing finger at him

“D-Don't try to flatter me!”

“Hey, I don't think there’s anything wrong with calling a beautiful woman beautiful, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I won't.” Amami smiles rather calmly. Genuinely. Like he means the words he says and like he’s making careful and calculated steps to avoid having me run off. “Despite the strange air around you, your eyes are rather interesting. Like Momota-kun said, they're full of stars, but also shine with an unfaltering resolution and an insane amount of intelligence. I wonder. . . how long have you been fighting?”

“. . .A while. . .” I admit with a sigh. I wouldn't normally admit this. . . but, despite the oddity that Rantarou Amami was, not a single of my internal alarms were going off. If anything, it was a sign he could be trusted. And if he was bringing up this map. . . “You want me to use the map to find and destroy the Monokuma Making machine.”

“Correct.” Amami grunts, crossing his arms and looking into my eyes once more. “You have a well of battle experience. I have a map of the campus and a fair amount of analytical skills. If we create an alliance. . . we can **end the killing game**.”

 

* * *

 

**June 24th; Day 05**

 

* * *

 

[ **\- HIKARI (2016 Piano & String Version) -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88rWhJ7uG4)

With a new day upon us and fourteen hours left before the deadline, I bolted out my room, however, I clumsily ran into Kaito on my way out. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me flush to his body to prevent me from tripping. We end up staring at each other, our faces flushed red.

“Oh! Uh, this is awkward. . .!” He fumbles. I crack an awkward smile, placing a hand at the back of his neck and pull him down to my height for a kiss. Amusingly, it took a moment for him to actually respond. To my surprise, as he returned the kiss he leaned forward to dip me backwards.

With a hand on my shoulder, I let out a loud amused laugh and secure my other arm around his neck. He smiled in return, pulling us both into an upright position before pressing a chase kiss to my lips.

“Geez, you’re so smooth Kaichii~” I swoon.

“You nasty heteros” Ouma calls from the second floor with disgust. I raise a brow at him.

“Were you waiting to say that?”

“I know your schedule by now.” He waves off as he plants an elbow on the rail and cups his face in his hands. “You come flying out your room around 8:30 and greet your gross boyfriend. You two get all gross and romantic and shove it in everyone’s faces.”

“We don't _shove it_ in anyone’s face.” Kaito mumbles, his cheeks flushed red.

“I’m not a heterosexual.” I sigh. Kaito looks to me with confusion. I simply shrug. “I’m pansexual. Gender or sex doesnt mean jackshit to me when pursuing a partner. All that I take into account is if we can get along and love each other.”

“Huh. . . I didn't know that was a thing. . .”

“Sexual and gender identity is a messy social construct made up by society.”

“What.” He looks completely baffled. . . and I realize this isnt a subject I should have brought up.

“Uh, it’s a bit complex to explain, but. . . Sex refers to your chromosomes. As in XX and XY, or any other combination that may occur in intersex individuals. However, Sex and Gender is not the same thing. In fact, Gender is an entirely made up human construct. The concept of gender does not exist anywhere but in humans. . . its why animals have only Sex on their documents or why sexual organs are referred as. . . well, sexual organs. Sex effects what kind of medical care you need and what chemicals your body needs or is commonly found in the body. Meanwhile, Gender is how we humans choose to express ourselves to the world. Honestly, I’m. . .agender.”

“A gender?” Kaito repeats in confusion. I sigh, crossing my arms.

“We are told gender is one or the other but that’s not how it works. Gender is more like a sliding scale. Think of it as male on one end and female on the other. There are people who feel comfortable in the bodies they were born with, but some don't identify with those bodies. I’m one of those people, however, I don't feel as if I belong _on_ the scale. Instead, I’m off it entirely. Agender literally means without gender. I could be called, her, he, they, or, just dude. I don't care. It all means the same to me. I am me.” I sigh, playing with my hair nervously.

“It sounds weird, but this is an aspect of me. . .so, I guess it was going to have to come up eventually.”

“I mean, yeah, it sounds weird.” He mumbles. Kaito rubs the back of his neck before awkwardly glancing to the side. “I don't get it, but as long as you're happy,” He looks back to me, a smile on his face. “Then, it’s all right!” I find myself exhaling a breath and smiling back before Kaito drags me into his arms with a powerful hug.

“Y’all are gross.” Ouma grumbles.

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -  
** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“I agree.”

Of course this fucker just appears as he wants!

Fucking _christ_!

Fuck this goddamn bear!

“I’m getting sick of your shit!” I scowl, clutching my chest. Monokuma doesn't even blink. He doesn't care as I glare nor as Ouma scrambles back into his dorm room.

“You’re so cruel Kazehaya-san. . .” Monokuma bemoans as if he’s actually legitimately offended. “I just wanted to tell you that your **Super High School Level Research Lab** is complete. . .”

“My what now.”

“ **Super High School Level Research Lab**!” He smiles, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “Everyone gets one! They’re labs dedicated to enhancing and researching your personal talent! As our preacher, I took special care in preparing your lab! After all, **it’s your responsibility to cremate any dead bodies found during the killing game**.”

“Forget it!” Kaito snarls. “No one is dying on my watch!” I wanted to say ‘that's my line’ but Monokuma simple giggles and . . .it’s completely unsettling but for a reason different than the usual. With all he needed said, Monokuma vanishes with an amused look on his face and a wave. Silently, Kaito and I stand there for what feels like forever. He gently squeezes my shoulder.

[ **\- Cool Morning -  
** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

“. . .Everything alright Kiriri?”

“Yeah. . .He just exhausts me. . . He still freaks me out but I’m feeling . . . more apathetic about him.” I trail off once more and let out a sigh. “Kaichii, go ahead without me. . . I wanna check the research lab alone. I donno what he put in there, but I wanna make sure it’s nothing too personal . . . If that’s okay?”

“I guess. . .” He sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “Just make sure to eat. You didn’t last night. I don't want you to get sick or something. . .”

“Right, I’ll be sure to eat something.” I peck Kaito on the cheek and take my leave from the dorm building. Taking the first step out into the courtyard, it was almost impossible to miss the shrine. It was. . . familiar now that I could see it in its complete form. It was a smaller than the one I’m familiar with but from the outside it looked like the shrine I set up in my city a couple years back after returning home from a rather complex . . . situation and to honor the loss of a friend I loved as a brother.

Seeing this shrine before me now, it filled me with conflicting feelings. A sense of relief, perhaps the person I feared that was involved with the Killing Game has nothing to do with it. . . but also dread. Someone with rather dangerous powers has visited my home world, the very town I call my hometown and saw my shrine with their very eyes. The only thing that kept me from panicking was the lack of reports from my superiors indicating that something happened to my hometown.

As I got closer to the shrine I noticed Shinguuji standing outside, curiously examining the building. When he noticed me, he bowed his head ever so slightly.

“Ah, good morning Kazehaya-san.”

“Morning. . .You want to look inside, right?” He chuckles a curious ‘kukukku’ sound that has a feminine ring to it.

“But of course. I am quite curious of the religion you preach about.”

“Uh, sure, I just want to check over the place first. I hope that’s not a problem. . .”

“Alone I take it?”

“. . .Yeah. I need to figure out the lay of this place and what supplies are available to me.”

“Very well, I shall return at a later hour. . .” With an amused look, Shinguuji took his leave. I look back to the building for several moments before sliding the shouji door back and stepped inside. To my surprise, a genkan was the first thing to greeted me. Stepping on the heels of mary janes, I slid out of one of my shoes and pulled the other off. With my shoes in hand, I glanced around before spotting a getabako with eighteen cubbies. Each cubby had a label, one for each student in the school.

After placing my shoes in their appropriate place, I stepped onto the tatami mat. Looking around I note that this haiden is relatively basic. The tatami mat only covered at least two thirds of the floor, the remaining portion was covered in hardwood floor and an altar sat there. Behind the altar was a long series of folding screen dividers that depicted two old tales I had come to know well.

 **The Birth of the Multiverse** and **The First Valkyries of Hope and Despair**.

For the moment, I put this aside to continue my explorations. Behind the folded screens were three doorways. The one in the center lacked an actual door, but was very clearly the heiden -- a place to store offerings and the path between the haiden and honden. It was currently lacking and rather empty but the tatami floored room was very clean.

Now beside it was open room was two doors. One was a simple white shouji door, the other was a rather hefty steel door. If I had to guess, this is where the cremation supplies were waiting. With a sigh, I opened the steel door and head down the staircase. Waiting for me was a large room with a cold concrete floor. Against one wall was what appeared to be a series of morgue fridges, eighteen in total and like the getabakos, they were already pre-labeled. I made a look of disgust at it.

Built into the the wall across from the fridges was the a huge brick oven with two doors. To entertain my curiosity, I opened it up to find a sliding tray for the coffin or body to lay upon. I close the oven once more, making sure it’s locked up tightly before looking back to the door I used to enter the room.

Right beside it was a low cabinet with a glass display case -- something close to a combination hutch and buffet cabinet -- filled with urns. Each and every urn was unique, each customized to match the talent belonging to the kanji that decorated it. The drawers were filled with various supplies to help with the cremation and preparation process of the body.

With a heavy sigh, I departed from the room and returned upstairs to enter the heiden. I slid yet another shouji door back and followed the path to the honden. The honden was a rather sacred place in a shrine. It wasn't ever open to the public unless there was a religious festival as it was the place to house the god of the shrine.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I entered the honden. . . but replica of the Yata no Kagami sitting on a stand was not what I foresaw. It was a very accurate replica too. . . A red disk with a flame pattern -- painted in the style of Sumi-e -- and wafting off the disk was metal shaped like turquoise, orange and red flames.

I look into the red disk to find my own reflection looking back at me. . . my genuine reflection. Not the reflection of Yuuki Kazehaya. I’m not really surprised by that as according to Japanese mythology it was believed mirrors would always reflect the truth and thus were key elements in mythology. . . but this feels like a jab. . . With a sigh, I turn away from the mirror and leave the honden to see the final room of this shrine.

On the wall next to the shouji is a silver plate, stating this room is a manager's office. Which, I guess, makes it my personal office?

With another sigh, I slide the door back and enter the room with my eyes absent mindedly focusing on the floor. I only look up once the door behind me is shut. I wish I never looked up. I wish I never came to this lab. This . . .This genuinely was made to mock me.

[ **\- Heartless Journey -  
** ](https://youtu.be/YhBFIjDybw4)

The room looked innocent enough. A basic office you’d fine just about anywhere else. Shelves filled in books, papers organized in filing cabinets, a neatly organized desk. . . . but the walls. The walls are covered in photos and delicately crafted painting. Photos of my friends, my classmates, people I love and care for so dearly. . . _people I failed to protect._

Incomprehensible pain and tears choke my heart. I can't stop the scream that tears from my throat nor how my fists smack against the glass, shattering frames as they plummet to the floor. I grab photos from the floor, tearing them up. Tearing the still frames of happier memories to shreds so they cannot be repaired or recognizable. I tear a painting from the wall, letting it hit the floor with a clattering bang.

I don't care.

I don't want to see it.

Even if it’s a lovely picture of her.

I don't want to _see it_.

My throat hurts but I can't find the will to care. I yank the photo up to prop it against the wall before slamming my foot into it, destroying the painted image of her face and leaving behind only a distorted image. And yet. That only angers me more. I stomp my feet into the painting again and again, tearing it until there’s nothing left behind.

Breathing heavily, my eyes glance to the last remaining photo. A pale young man with red eyes and long unruly black hair that matches the suit he wears. The one who lives on in the body of someone I never realized I loved until it was too late.

_Izuru Kamukura._

I just. . . I feel hollow sorrow and yet, a hint of joy. . .

Because he’s not involved in this killing game.

To replicate the shrine from my hometown, details about the birth of the multiverse, the battle of the valkyries, and to have a replica of Amaterasu’s mirror. . .  These aren’t things he could do or know of. . .  I feared. . . I was so scared that if I ran into him again without my objective complete and I would have to put him down this time. But to see him now, even as a photo, breaks my heart. With a scream, I dig my nails into the painting, practically gouging his eyes out.

“Kazehaya-san . . .?” I come to a sudden stop. My brain struggles to apply a name to the voice as I try my best to fight back the tears. . . but it’s useless. My heart hurts so much. I’ve been trying for so long to help my friends, even as I tried to lock out the world, believing that letting others in would only hurt me. . . because they didn't deserve to suffer as they are right now.

To rub this in my face, reminding me that the **d** **e** **spair** they’re suffering through is my fault. If I was smarter, if I paid more attention, if I did _more_ I could have saved all of them. I could have prevented all of this.

“I’m sure you did everything you could.” The voice gently consoles me as their hand calmly runs over the top of my head, gently patting down my veil in the process.

It will never feel like I did enough because during those last few days, before everything went to shit, I avoided all of them to pursue work. I deluded myself into thinking everything was fine and I tinkered away on my project, intending to expand its uses to help people.

The arms hold me a little tighter, running soothing circles on my backside as they whisper soothing words. Tightly as I could, I clutched the body of whoever was comforting me as miserable sobs shook my entire body. Carefully, they lead me to the ground, nudging some of the glass and debris aside so we could safely take a seat. I leaned in close to their chest, choking on stuttering sobs and strangled apologies for letting them find me this way.

They gently assure me it’s all right as they wiped the tears from my eyes. Through the tears, I can finally see who was comforting me. It was Amami. His expression was nothing but concern as he pulled me in for another hug. Softly, he informs me I can cry as long as I needed.

I sobbed harder, letting out a gut wrenching cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the mirror in the honden is amaterasu's best mirror in okami


	6. {01} (Un)Ordinary Days {06}

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

Neither Amami or myself bothered to clean up the mess that littered my office at the moment. Once I stopped crying we decided to just attempt our meeting as normally as possible but after the scene he witnessed I felt it was important to say something.

“Six years ago, a lot of things went to shit.” I mumble as we sit around the kotasu in my office. Amami looks to me, curiosity on his face. He clearly has questions but because of the rules, he can’t ask them leaving me to force myself to reveal these secrets on my own. I let out a deep sigh. “And you’re right I’m not a preacher. . . . Well, not just that. It’s too early to get into detail about that with you, just, I get jobs. Jobs to spread **hope** and foster it in the hearts of the living across the entirety of the multiverse. . . Six years ago I was given a job, assassinate the entirety of Class 77-B. . .”

“Isn’t that harsh for someone meant to foster hope?” He questions. I let out yet another deep sigh, focusing on my folded hands on the surface of the table.

“. . . Yeah. Not to mention I was thirteen at the time.”

“ _Thirteen_?!” He demands incredulously.

“Sometimes it’s the only option. Thankfully, it was not the one I took. One of my employers forged some papers to get me into Hope’s Peak Academy. I shared a year with them and realized they wouldn’t do anything malicious. Not if they were in control of themselves. . . I stupidly thought if I could help them cope with challenges thrown their way they would be fine but I failed to realize that the danger I needed to look out for was within the school, pulling strings from the shadows to orchestrate their downfalls and with. . .” I clench my fist and glance to the side. In the chaos, one photo avoided destruction among the chaos. I lean back to pull it out from under the desk and place it down on the kotasu surface. It was a photo of my classmates but each of their faces were crossed out with a red X and my face was purposely left unscathed.

“ **That bitch** killed my friend. She was a great force of positive light and tried so hard to keep us united. She. . . she meant a lot to us and watching her be helplessly murdered. . . It broke all of them. They fell into a horrible **d** **e** **spair**. While this all happened I was at home, skipping classes to write create a rehabilitation program. I thought it would be great to have that program, even if I didn't use it on them, I could use it to help others. . .but, I learned everything too late. . .” Gently, Amami takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. Hesitantly, I return the gesture. “Do you know how fucked up it is to cremate your own friend’s body as the world around you literally falls apart?”

“I’d imagine it’s not fun.”

“It really wasn’t. . .” I sigh.

“. . . Kazehaya.” Amami begins firmly. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve gone through.” I manage to crack a smile.

“It still hurts, but it’s one of the many things that shaped me into who I am. . . besides, our saga isn’t over yet. I told my superiors I intend to save them, so I will. . . In order to do that we need to safely leave this shit hole.” Amami cracks a smile, taking his hand back.

[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

“Ah, that is true,” With a flourish, Amami pulls out a MonoPad and sets it down on the surface of the kotasu. He pokes and prods at it for several moments before sliding the pad my way. As he said last night, there was a map of the entire campus, a total of six floors plus the basement -- which seemed to have an extra room attached to the library.

I noticed a word bubble floating around in the bottom corner of the screen. Curious, I give it a poke for something rather surprising to float onto the screen.

“ _Clue to end the killing game._

_The mastermind who is behind the killing game is hiding somewhere within the academy. You best chance of exposing them is when Monokuma needs as spare. At that time, the mastermind will go to the library’s hidden room._

_To prove this hint is accurate, I will predict something. The first thing you will remember is the Ultimate Hunt._

_Only share this information with people you know you can trust. How you determine that will mean your life or your death._

_Amami Rantarou_ ”

It was a letter to himself. . .? That’s strange. When did he get the moment to write this down? _How_ did he write this down? MonoPads don't have any sort of notes function. It was a little concerning that he was able to obtain a MonoPad with a note to himself. . .  but none of my alarms were going off, meaning Amami was not a danger to me.

Still, the **Ultimate Hunt** . . .

“What is that?” He gives me a curious but confused look. The **Ultimate Hunt**.” I clarify

“Ah, yes, that. . .” He trails off for a moment to gather his thoughts. “I’m sorry, it’s a bit fuzzy but it seems. . . **we Super High School Level were being hunted**.”

“Hunted?!” I yelp. “What for?!”

“Ah, I can't seem to recall why. . . I just recall I and a few other SHSL students were being chased and hunted. . .”

“Sounds rough buddy.” Why the fuck did I say that. Amami stares right back at me with a blank expression before cracking a smile and laughing rather loudly.

“What _was_ that?!”

“I don't. . . I don't know. . .” I sigh, placing my face in my hand to hide my embarrassed face. “Either way, if this is your **Survivor’s Perk** , wouldn't this imply you were in a Killing Game before?” Amami’s face hardens and he crosses his arms.

“Yes, that’s the feeling I’m getting as well. . . Perhaps that's why my memory is such a mess. The Mastermind wanted to hide this truth from me. . .” I hum, placing a finger to my lip thoughtfully.

“It makes sense. Having someone who _knows_ how the Killing Game works would only cause problems. . . but why are you still here. . .?” The second I ask, it seems so obvious why. There would only be one reason to keep a survivor from a Killing Game.

“To kill me.”. . . Amami says it so casually, as if he’s already realized this and come to terms with it already. Or, as if he’s used to this kind of dangerous stuff already. It makes me wonder what his talent actually is. . .

“Then, let me be a bodyguard.”

“What? I can't ask that of you!”

“Dude, I’m an experienced fighter,” I say with a heavy sigh. I reach into my purse, shuffling around my various belongings until my fingers brushed up against something. It took me a moment to realize what it was. Yuuki’s diary.  I should find time to review this. . . Carefully, I place it down on the ground beside me for the time being and reach into my purse once more, this time, I pulled out my pocket knife. I proceed to placed it on the tabletop along with the dairy.

“What is this?” He questions, carefully picking up the knife. He flips it open with a curious look and his eyes light up just a little. It wasn’t that old and still in excellent condition due to the constant care I gave it. The blade is sleek as ever, the handle’s grip is firm and the material shines under the light. “It has such excellent craftsmanship. . .”

“Yeah, it was a gift from my blood father for my sixteenth birthday. It’s my personal knife. Just, keep it for defence at the very least.” I sigh. Amami hums curiously.

“I see, that must explain why the name ‘ **Melody** ’ is carved into the blade.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, I have doubts that Yuuki Kazehaya is your name.”

“Well, you're not wrong about that. Yuuki Kazehaya is a name I chose after a . . . personal rebirth of sorts.” Amami replies with a simple ‘ah’ before flipping the knife close and pocketing it.

    * “ **Melody Pocket Knife** ” has been added to Rantarou Amami’s Inventory.



“Still, back to the main point.” Folding his hands together, he places his elbows on the kotasu and his chin on top of his folded hands. “We have to do something before ten PM. I’ve investigated the library before hand but I never found anything leading to a door. . .”

“Meaning there’s a secret to it.” He nods.

“Correct, however, it’s too complicated to examine it during the morning. If we are to act, we’ll have to visit the library later in the evening.” That’s cutting it pretty close, however, he wouldn't have suggested that if he didn't think it was the right choice. Amami isn't an idiot. . . he’s smarter than he appears or even bothers to let on.

“I’m. . . I’m pretty sure that’s the only good chance.” I sigh, playing with a strand of hair. “By the time night rolls around. . . most people would retreat to their respective rooms to try and hide from what they perceive as the inevitable. . . . I’ll go give the library a glance over now and you can go collect whatever we need for our investigation-slash-stakeout.”

“Alright, I’ll head over to the library at about eight-thirty.” I made an okay sign with my hands. Amami rises to his feet and takes his leave. Taking one last glance to Yuuki’s diary, I tuck it back into my bag for the time being, and turn my attention finds itself between the shouji door and a shard of glass lying on the floor. I take the shard of glass into my hands before gazing at my empty palm.

Slowly, I bring the glass down to my open palm, cutting my hand. I watch the blood pool in my palm for a few moments before approaching the shouji door. Slowly, using the blood, I carefully draw my clan’s mon on the paper of the door. Once the symbol is complete, the blood glows a soft pale blue color and. . .

**CLICK**

The door is sealed shut. I slide the door open and stepped out of the room. The door closes behind me with the same click as before. I rattle the door within its fitting to check the security of the door. As I expected, it's locked shut. This way, I can lock out anyone I don't trust and keep whatever secrets I want.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

According to the map on Amami’s Survivors Perk MonoPad, the secret room would be against the backwall. . . but the wall was lined with bookshelves. There was certainly no visible entrance way. Then it had to be a classic secret bookcase kind of thing. Lowly humming to myself, I dragged my fingers over the bookcase as I walked down the length of the wall. As I do so, I look around the room to notice that a vent is open for some reason. Huh. Why would it be open and without a grate cover?

“Akamatsu-san?” A voice calls out to me, just as my fingers slid into a strangely spaced crack among the bookshelves. I quickly pull my hand back as the owner of the voice rounds a corner. It was Shuuichi with a stack of books in his arms. He blinks, his beautiful silver-gold eyes looking to me in confusion.

“Hey there Shuuichi-kun!” I beam. He immediately blushes and looks down to the stack of books in his arms to hide his flustered expression.

“‘Shuuichi-kun’? I-Isn’t that too personal. . . ?”

“I. . .I don't know.” I laugh sheepishly, rubbing at the back of my neck. “I just think Shuuichi is a really cute name . . . !” I pause, sweating just a bit. “Wow. That sounds weird when I say that out loud. . .” I proceeded to cough, continuing to avoid the flustered look on his face. “So, are you organizing the library? Do you need help?”

“No, Akamatsu-san was helping me. . . but she excused herself to the bathroom for the moment. . . please don't burden yourself with helping us. . .You’re very busy after all.” That is true but not exactly for reasons he would assume. Still, I have to play this cool. I can't let him in on this plan to avoid putting him in harm’s way.

“Well, why don't we leave those books on the table for the moment and talk for a bit while you wait for Akamatsu-chan?” Without waiting for much of a response I took the stack of books from his arms and easily carried them over to a nearby table. I took a seat in a chair and smiled at him as he awkwardly made his way over, tugging the bill of his hat over his eyes.

“You know, what does a Super High School Level Detective do anyway? Er, what are the qualifications exactly?”

“Ah, I’m not sure. . .” He mumbles. I give him a curious look as I tilt my head.

“But you are the SHSL Detective, how do you not know. . .?” For a moment, he glances to me and I can see uncertainty on his face. He tries to hide his face with his hat once more.

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

“. . . I believe it was a mistake I received my title.” He softly speaks.

“What?” I question incredulously.

“I don't want to be a detective. I never wanted that. . . but my uncle runs an agency and I worked as his assistant on occasion. We would only get small cases . . . It was only a coincidence that we uncovered a murder case and I solved it before the police did. . .”

“I know that feel.”

I’m.

I’m going to kick my own ass I swear to god.

I can't stop saying all this stupid fucking bullshit.

I place my face in my hands and give myself a moment to pull my act together. I take a deep breath through my nose, fold my hands together and point them at him.

“I understand that feeling is what I mean.” I explain. “I spend so much time wondering ‘am I a good mother?’, ‘a good wife?’, ‘a good partner?’” I pause as an old thought loomed over me once again. I’m a **Sage** now, but one day, I’m going to become a **God** \-- **The Goddess of Hope** itself. I still can't believe I’m the one destined for this job. I mean, shit, I technically _already_ am. An ADHD riddled, anxious and depressed mess is going to become the embodiment of hope!

 _It’s a fucking joke_.

“. . . Is the path laid out before me the proper one? Can I truly excel at it? I don't know. I may never know unless I try it, but, I _do know_ that someone saw me and thought; ‘she’ll be great at these things!’ and believed in me.”

. . .but I don't fight it. . . because I want to protect people and let them live without fear even if they’ll never know I was involved. Even if this path is hard and painful, I want to take that path. It may not be the path Shuuichi intended to take. . . but there’s still something important about all of this. . .

“Someone looked at Shuuichi Saihara and said, he can do it and they believe in him. I do too. You’ve already proven yourself to be a smart person!”

“But, what if the truth leads to hurting someone. . .?” I stay silent as he continues to speak, his voice quivers just a bit and his hands shake. “What if, by finding the truth, you're just making everything worse? Inviting stares of hatred and malice that make you cower and hide from the truth. . . How is anyone like me supposed to be a detective. . .?” Gently, I place my hand on top of his and smile.

“You’re not weak for being scared or cautious of the truth . . . Not all truths are good. . . just like not all lies are terrible. . . There. . . There is a truth about me, that scared me for a very long time until I came to terms with it. . .” I furrow my brows, giving him a serious look.

“Kazehaya-san. . .?”

“But! Even if it’s scary, even if it’s terrible, it’s important to _understand_ why those with ill intentions did what they did or why they were pushed into the corner to act how they did. Exposing the truth won't make you a bad person, if anything, you're helping those who died or suffered find peace and allowing them to move on.” I take my hand back to rub the back of my neck. “That’s my take on it anyway. . .”

“You aren't alone anyway. Others can help you. I know I would. I believe in you and your endeavors!” Without thinking the motion through, I reached out and took Shuuichi’s hat right off his head with a smile on my face. “So there’s no reason to hide your eyes. All you have to do is **reach out the truth**!” I open my eyes and my brain shuts down.

Shuuichi. . . Without his hat. . .I could see his face in full and he was breathtaking. His face was soft and delicate, his golden-silver eyes shimmered and even the long lashes made him much more beautiful than I could have imagined.

Heat consumes my face and I strangled sound escapes me. My brain has completely failed me and instincts are the only thing driving me now. Flushed, I escape the library as fast as I could, the image of Shuuichi’s flushed shocked expression burned into my brain. I could hear him shouting after me but I couldn't make out the words.

It wasn’t until I made it back to my dorm room did I realize. . . I ran off with his hat.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-Z30WlBXE)

It’s about eight o'clock by the time I return to the library via the main door with Shuuichi’s hat in hand. I have no idea why I’m carrying it. I guess in a hope that we may randomly cross paths. . . which did not happen. However, as I expected, there was a lack of students in the halls. I took a seat at the table and pulled Yuuki’s diary from my purse. Just as I began to read the book I noticed something out of place. Sometime between now and my last visit, cameras were installed on the library shelves. The positions were strategic, as if they wanted to get the most out of each shot.

The cameras themself were rather basic disposable cameras. Nothing too special and certainly not something a mastermind would use if they had access to the technology necessary to make Monokuma. Did Amami set them up?

. . .

Ah. On second thought, that doesn't make much sense. He wouldn't get anyone involved in this outside the two of us.

I let out a sigh, resting my head in the palm of my hand as I began to flip through the dairy. To the front of the book were notes I made six years ago during my first visit to this world. Notes about my friendships, observations and the rehabilitation program I. . . we organized. To this day,  I don't know how Yuuki Kazehaya got it. . .but she did and she used this book to record all of her endeavors. . . up until her death.

Reading through her final journey, I see a number of parallels to what's currently happening. A large sum of teens isolated from society in a remote location and told to they are to participate in a killing game. A strange animal mascot character dictating the rules and giving out motives.

There were differences, as the children in the diary can recall with absolute clarity who they are and what happened before they woke up on a cursed cruise ship. And their ‘headmaster’ was more of an abomination of **magic and science** rather than pure machine. . . I doubt Yuuki would lie about that. Even if I didn't know how that quite worked, it did give me hope that my plan to incorporate such mechanics into my rehabilitation program was not too far fetched as it was initially implied to be.

I continued to read through the detailed record of what I dubbed as ‘ **Despair Parade Cruises** ’ while I waited for Amami to arrive. However I became concerned as the appointed time came and passed without a single sign of him. Just as I was about to exit the side door by the very table I sat at I heard voices.

One voice overpowered all the others. A very loud and familiar voice. Why would Kaito be down here at this hour? And with so many people?

[ **\- Let’s Killing Broadcast -** ](https://youtu.be/-fyVeVPKbtc)

Just as I was about to get up to my feet, loud and obnoxious music began to blare from the futuristic TV set up in the corner of the room. The screen was displaying bright and popping images of assorted blue and red chess pieces dying in various ways -- drowning, strangling and even stabbing -- while a black piece watches with what appeared to be joy.

I made a face of disgust as I quietly slid the side door open and then stepped into the hall between the library and the Game Room. Pressing my back against the wall, I carefully approached the fork in the hall and I am able to witness the scene of Kaito leading a number of people -- Gonta, Tenko, Angie, Himiko, Maki and even Amami -- to the game room.

Why would he do that although?

Oh god.

What the hell is he planning. . .?

Quietly sighing, I returned to the library -- quietly shutting the door behind me. Well, I at least know Amami was fine, however if he didn’t arrive by nine I’ll have to start the investigation on my own.  According to the clock on my phone, it was currently eight forty-two. Less than twenty minutes. With a sigh, I closed the dairy for the time being and rested my head on the surface of the table after I slid it back into my purse.

. . .

“Sorry I’m late.”

I suddenly sit upright. Damn. I nearly dozed off while waiting for Amami. That would have been a big problem since the rules state that's no go. . . I quickly jumped to my feet, my face flushed red.

“A-Ah! You’re here!” I yelp. He stares at me for a few moments before smirking just a bit.

“My, did you fall asleep?”

“I just blacked out for like. . .” I check the clock on my cell phone. “Sev- Eighteen minutes. . .”

“You know, you could have been stabbed.”

“As if.” I huffed. “No one can simply sneak up on me!” I then motion to the cameras taped to the shelves of the library. “Someone set up cameras around here. If I had to hazard a guess they’re motion sensitive ”

“Ah. That seems right. One of them seem to have something tapped to it. . . Most likely the sensor.”

“They weren’t here this afternoon when I visited.” I inform him. Amami hums, crossing his arms with a thoughtful expression.

“Do you have any idea who would have left them?”

“If I had to guess, Shuuichi probably.”

“Oh?”

“When I came by earlier he and, apparently Kaede-”

“Apparently?”

“Yeah, she wasn’t around when I visited. He said she was in the bathroom, but, for whatever reason, they were sorting books together. . .” I pause for a moment. “Seeing how the books and cameras are arranged now, I think it’s a fair assumption they set it up. . .”

“. . .Saihara-kun _is_ Super High School Level Detective. He must have had a hunch about the library too.”

“I think most people would if they noticed the marks on the floor.” I hum. Amami approaches the bookcase in question, giving it hard look.

“Odd. . . These lines weren’t here before.” He glances around the library. And after several moment, his eyes narrow as he’s come to a realization. “I guess that explains things.”

“Things? Things like what?” I question, joining him at his side. He uncrosses his arms, placing his hands on his hips and lets out a sigh.

“ **Look at how the books are arranged**. It’s a mess, right?” Looking around, I noticed he was right. Some books couldn't fit in the shelves because of their height so they were randomly stacked about. If Kaede and Shuuichi were indeed investigating they knew they couldn't mess with this design too much as it would tip off the Mastermind that someone was onto them. But, that arrangement made something rather obvious in retrospect.

“I see. . . There are no books in front of this shelf! If there’s no books in front of it and there’s these marks on the floor, it must be a **secret door**!” I beam. My smile only grows wider as Amami grins in return.

“Bingo. Let’s crack this wide open.” Suddenly, there was a bright flash. Taken by surprise, I winced. What the fuck. In unison, the two of us looked to the nearest camera. I squinted my eyes after rubbing them.

“What the fuck?” I asked out loud.

“Hold on, lemme get that. . .” He’s already approaching the camera but I reach out and place a hand on Amami’s shoulder. He glances back to me with a confused expression.

“No point. Shuuichi put it up and it he’s more or less on our side. Besides, we can always jack the cameras before we go if we need to.” Amami hums, thinking about my words for a moment or two before he placed a hand on the bookshelf. Or attempted to. He completely missed the shelf and his hand instead fell into the crack between two shelves. For a moment, he struggles to pull his hand free and then pauses.

I have no idea what he’s up to until the bookshelf slowly eases back with a groan. That could only mean he found a button or a switch. Nonetheless, I took hold of the bookcase and carefully pulled it back to reveal a black and white door. Monokuma’s modif.

“Yeah, that’s a secret doorway if I’ve ever seen one.” As I say this, the camera flash goes off once more.

“What the fuck.” I repeat. There’s no way Shuuichi would purposely leave a camera’s flash on if he was trying to catch someone suspicious in action. I shake my head, putting it to the side for a moment. Clenching my fist, I take a moment to concentrate before winding up and slamming it right into the door, denting it. It was a reasonable amount of damage, seeing how the metal bended around the hole of the impact.

. . . This would made for an amusing photo. I thought as the camera’s flash went off yet again; Amami’s face in his hands as he watched me punch at the door, leaving dents in it.

“ _Why_ are you punching it?” He questions slowly. I pause, poking at my bottom lip before shrugging my shoulders.

“Mostly because I know I’m strong and if I had the time I could totally tear this door down.” His face falls and he looks doubtful as he spreads his arms out in exasperation

“How is that even possible. . .?!”

“Training."

“What kind of training do you even do?!”

“Hardcore shit.” I sigh, taking a moment to shake my hand. As strong as I was, I still had limits. Two hits already shattered my hand. . . however, it should heal quickly enough. In the meantime, I switch my attention to my other hand. If could land a few blows, I’d probably be able to tear a hole into the door and from there, I could make a bigger opening.

Just as I wound up the hit, the library’s doors opened and Kaito, Tenko and Shuuichi. OH FUCK. He still didn’t have a hat. His face is _still_ so stunning and illegally beautiful.

“My gay heart.” I whisper, clutching my chest and the back of Amami’s shirt with the other. Amami awkwardly chuckles, actually focusing on the task at hand.

“My, how awkward. . . What brings you all here--” With no warning, Tenko takes Amami by his forearm and flips him with a powerful yell.

“Yoooo!” I shout, completely horrified by her rough handling of Amami. I had a feeling we’d be suspected if we were found in the library but Christ. “Tenko what the fuck?!” She hesitated but then promptly proceeded to flip me as well.

“What the hell?!” Kaito shouts, rushing over to my side -- Amami makes a sly comment about how it was fine that he was ignored -- and gently guides me into a sitting position. “Hey! There was no reason to attack Kiriri like that!”

“Tenko did as she said she would!” Tenko grimaces as she remains in a fighting pose. “That menace said the Mastermind was in the library and Tenko said she would apprehend them!”

“And you really think Kiriri would do something like pit us against each other?!” Tenko looks him dead in the eyes and utters: Of course not.

“Tenko’s Neo-Aikido can see the genuine intentions in one's heart! Kazehaya-san’s heart. . .” Tenko’s face flushed red and she shivers. “It’s so beautiful. . .! So much love and brilliant pure light!” She then dramatically poses, as if she’s ready to jump into a fight. “Yes! Tenko can see it clearly! Both she and Amami-san intended to confront the Mastermind!”

“That was the gayest thing I’ve heard in awhile.” Amami comments from his spot in the floor. I snort with laughter as Tenko flushes red.

“You both came here to confront the Mastermind. . .?” Shuuichi softly repeats, as if he was baffled by our intentions. “But how did you know to check the library?”

“Well, I had a theory that someone was working with that bear.” I explain with a sigh. “When he said everyone **_forced_** to participate in the killing game would die, that pretty much proved my theory for me. He could have simply said everyone will die but the fact he specifically said ‘ _forced_ ’ sold it for me.”

“I see. . .” Shuuichi hums softly, bringing his hand to his mouth in thought. “So you picked up on that too. . .”

“Yeah, then Amami-kun told me what he discovered about the library. For a moment, his eyes narrowed at me but I smiled innocently. “He noticed how all the books were arranged! He’s got a real eye for details!”

“Ah, yes. . . The books are arranged in a rather particular way, except around this. . .” Shuuichi trails off for a moment, a rather shocked expression on his face. “What. . . happened to the door. . .?”

“I punched it.” I shrugged. I was greeted with looks of shock and confusion.

“P-Punched it?” Shuuichi stutters, completely taken back by my answer.

“I wasn't making a joke when I said I’d take care of the problem. I have the strength and power to do so--” I suddenly stopped as a chill coursed through my body. I shuddered, clutching my shoulders tightly. I could feel it. That magic. That magic was back. My eyes darted around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. . . and in the process I realized something was _off_ about this scene.

“Shuuichi-kun. . .  where’s Akamatsu-chan?” He suddenly pales. He reels around, frantically looking around for her but she’s nowhere to be found. He begins to tremble before he forced his body to take off running, shouting her name. Terror seazes me as a realization dawns upon me. I too take off running, following after him as he bolts up the stairs to the first floor of the building.

A scream of absolute horror, terror and heartbreak rang out over the blaring music that came from the TVs. As I climbed the stairs, Shuuichi nearly tripped over his own feet in panic. I took him by his forearm and pulled him back to his feet. I could see the sign for Classroom 1-A as we approached the top of the stairs. . .

But also Himiko. She was on her knees, her entire body trembling and her fingers uselessly grasping at the floor to find some sort of solid footing or to check what ever she was staring at was reality or not. The two of us ran to her as fast as we could, Shuuichi stumbled over his words as he requested to know what happened. . .

But the words die in his mouth the moment he looks into the classroom.

[ **\- Body Discovery A -** ](https://youtu.be/dQch5ejWp6s)

Laying on their back, their face slightly tinted a blue color and with blood in their hair that laid strew on the floor, was the body of . . . **Kaede Akamatsu** , the **Super High School Level Pianist** , her face etched into pain and terror for the rest of eternity.

I bring a hand to my mouth in horror. A scream rang out. For a moment, I thought it was me. . . but, the weight of Shuuichi suddenly felt so much more and I realized why. He screamed out, his body giving away under him as he was reduced to tears by the sight of his closest companion gone forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im cursed to say memes in conversation  
> its horrible


	7. {01} Unordinary Days {01}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello children its investigation time

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**My** **Class Trial, Our Class Trial**

**Un** **ordinary Days**

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

Despite Amami and my efforts, someone was murdered. . . . Kaede Akamatsu, Super High School Level Pianist, was found dead in Classroom 1-A. . . Unfortunately, her body was found by Himiko, who seemed to completely shut down as a response to the trauma. Tenko immediately swooped down to her side, wrapping her arms around Himiko in an attempt to comfort her. Tenko looked rather sick herself but was forcing herself to keep it together for the sake of the smaller girl.

“. . .Damn it.” Amami hisses. He furiously, pounds his fist against the wall, frustration and sorrow clear on his face.

“What the hell. . .” Kaito whispers, his voice trembling. “What the hell is this?!” His voice comes out as a shout as stares at Kaede’s body. To see such a warm and lively person. . . dead, with their face twisted in agony and fear, was just too painful.

Shuuichi has completely shut down. I gave him a sympathetic pat on the back and I would have said some words had the music not cut off and Monokuma’s face appeared on the TV.

**Ding dong dang dong. . . !**

_“A body has been discovered! Please head to the location of discovery, Classroom 1-A!”_

Shuuichi began to cry anew the moment the screen turned off. Monokumas words were an unnecessary truth that pointed out, without a doubt, Kaede was gone. I give him one more pat on the back and approached Himiko to take the cape from her body. She gives me a confused look and Tenko is mildly annoyed but she says nothing. I proceed to drape the cloth over her body for the time being, to spare everyone the sight of her lifeless body as footsteps came thundering towards the classroom.

“Should we. . . clean up?” Kaito asks slowly.

“No, it would interfere with the crime scene.” I answer with a sigh.

“Isn’t that heartless Kazehaya-chan?” Ouma questions with a giggle. “Our dear friend is dead and you don't seem to care!”

“. . .There’s no point in pussyfooting around it. . .” I sigh softly, crossing my arms. “Akamatsu-chan is dead. . . Of course I’m sad but. . .   _she’s dead._ ”

“Meaning there’s a **Blackened** among us.” Maki curtly points out. “Either we have to find out who did it or we all die.”

“That’s right!” Monokuma beams, appearing outta nowhere as usual. For once, I didn't panic or scream. I just glared back at him. “At least, that _would be_ the situation but thanks to the First Blood Perk, there is no trial!”

_Shit._

I completely forgot about that.

“Alrighty! Now that you brats have gathered, the killer of Kaede Akamatsu, Super High School Level Pianist, please step forward without delay!”

“Alright! Which one of you terrible men killed Akamatsu-san?!” Tenko demands, glaring at the sea of teenagers outside the door. Gonta looked offended.

“Why are you assuming it’s a guy?!” He hysterically questions, on the borderline of tears. The class broke into chaos, shooting accusations at each other. . . and yet. . . no one stepped forward. Even the cubs arrive to make the guilty party come forward. . . but they still don't. Instead of irritation, Monokuma only chuckles.

“I see. . . The guilty party doesn’t want the prize! They want a class trial!”

“. . .What?” Toujou questions.

“I understand, I understand! We shall hold a Class Trial! Just as you want!”

“What a hot development!” Monosuke grins.

“What the fuck is going on . . .?” Kaito questions, looking a bit queasy.

“Isnt it obvious?” Monotaro questions, tilting his head. “You have to figure out who killed Kaede Akamatsu in the upcoming Class trial!!”

“If you correctly figure it out, only the Blackened will be punished.” Monosuke hums, adjusting his glasses. “But if you’re wrong. . .”

“WE’LL DO SURGERY ON YOUR BRAIN AND KNEES AT THE SAME TIME! THEN YOUR BRAIN AGAIN!” Monokid shouts with enthusiasm.

“. . .You’ll all die.” Monosuke finishes, ignoring Monokid’s outburst.

“Alright, get started!” Monokuma cackles. “A trail is nothing without an investigation!”

“. . .We’re supposed to do the investigation ourselves?” Ryouma questions slowly.

“Well of course! The Investigation portion is an important component of the Killing Game! Now, do your best to prepare for the Class Trial! I eagerly await the results of your work!” Monokuma suddenly looks my way with a grin. “Oh, I guess you’ll have to cremate a body after all! So much for not doing that, huh?” Monokuma chuckles. I clench my teeth and my fists.

“Go fuck yourself.”

“My! You’re quite feisty when you're mad! Girls like that get me HOT!” My anger wavers for a moment, being replaced with disgust, but it goes unacknowledged by Monokuma. “Anyway, here’s a gift from me, to you! It’s to help with your investigation! A Monokuma file! It contains information about the victim and it’s accurate! However, you won't find anything about the killer. It would make the Class Trail too easy if it did.” With that said, everyone's MonoPods suddenly beep, informing us a new item has appeared in our Evidence Inventories.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

    * “ **Monokuma File 1** ”; Victim: Kaede Akamatsu. Time of Death was approximately 9:10 PM. The location of body discovery was Classroom 1-A. Death was caused by a shattered spine. Body shows evidence of bruises on neck and bumps on head.



Furrowing my brows I examined the information on the pad. Around that time -- a several minutes after nine o'clock -- Shuuichi, Kaito and Tenko burst into the library with Amami and myself. We bickered like idiots for at least several minutes before I realized Kaede was missing.

There was a group of students in the Game Room at the same time. . . although I have no idea if they left or not around that time. . . and I have no idea where everyone else was . . . So, establishing alibis and testimonies will be important.

I paused as the sound of everyone’s bickering was getting out of control to the point that I couldn't concentrate.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” I shout, reeling around to them. For a brief moment, [my eyes flashed](http://78.media.tumblr.com/e5473aca676cd0625b944e37457a0de2/tumblr_ni4ze8A9p71th93f0o3_r1_500.gif) and immediately they all withered under my gaze. With a sigh, I close my eyes and pinch my brow. “Christ. Bickering like this you’re all playing into the Mastermind’s hands. . . !” Crossing my arms, I huff.

“. . .Mastermind?” Kiibo repeats. “Excuse me but what are you talking about Kazehaya-san?”

“Exactly what’s on the tin.” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips with exasperation. “There’s too many things Monokuma says that implies there’s someone else involved. That stupid ‘kill everyone forced to participate in the killing game’ line is too obvious if you think about it. And a secret hidden base in the campus is a dead giveaway. It was a pure coincidence that both Amami-kun and Shuuichi-kun discovered this and we both made efforts to stop the Mastermind. . . For this to happen instead. . .” I glance to the side as my voice trails off. I clench my fingers to steel myself. “Look, the only way we’re gonna solve this case is if we collaborate together instead of accusing each other! Give each other a reason to not accuse each other and find the truth together!”

“Kiriri is right!” Kaito grins, pounding his fists together. “That son of a bitch was probably waiting for this! I refuse to fall for his plan!”

“Males are the creatures that betray without hesitation! However, even males were born from women, so for the time being, Tenko shall believe in them!”

“Tenko please take your sexist vibes out of here.” I grunted. “They’re killing _my_ vibe.” Tenko makes some strangled sound in the background. I mean, given how FUCKED society is, I get where she's coming from but litterally none of the guys have been dicks to any of the women here. Despite my idiotic quip, others began to voice their belief about a possible Mastermind or their intentions to help work together and unravel the truth of this mystery. It was a relief to say the least. Doubting each other or the existence of the Mastermind would screw us over in the long run.

[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

“We should probably stick together with someone.” Ryouma suggests with a heavy sigh. “If we all went off on our own, someone could destroy or alter evidence.”

“Fair enough. Just don't touch anything either. Disturbing the scene could fuck things up.” I sigh. “Also, use the backdoor to get in. If everyone tried to come in through the front it would get really jammed in here.” Kaede died in front of the classroom door. If anything, this suggested she died when trying follow Shuuichi out of the room but was confronted before she could do so.

“Would love to but the door is locked.” He sighs. Without missing a beat, Amami volunteers to open the back door. He carefully walks around myself and Kaede’s body to unlock the door. A number of people begin to file into the room to look around the scene for clues while others couldn't will themselves to enter or were occupied with something else.

Regardless, I turn my attention back to Shuuichi. His face is covered in tears and his eyes are puffy and red. He’s beyond miserable and looks so lifeless.

“Hey, Shuuichi-kun. . .” I begin softly.

“. . . It’s. . .This is my fault.” He crokes. Gently, I place a hand on his shoulder and tilts his head in my direction with my other hand. The heartbroken expression on his face made my heart throb with pain. He seemed so small and defenceless.

“Hey, no. Don’t talk like that. You had no idea this could happen. She believed in you and came to assist you . . .” I take my hand from his cheek and seeing him maintain eye contact with me, I reached into my purse to pull out a white handkerchief. With shaking hands he takes it from me and with a soft thank you he begins to wipe the tears from his face. I smile softly, wrapping my arms around his shoulder. “Now, it might sound like a dick move from me, but no crying until the end, okay? We have to find Akamatsu-Chan’s murder and put her soul at ease. Once we do that, we can cry for as long as we need to, alright?”

“Kazehaya-san. . .” I crack a small smile, patting his shoulder.

“Don’t be so formal. As far as I’m concerned, we’re partners now!”

“That’s embarrassing. . .” He mutters softly. His cheeks were red but a hint of a smile appears on his face. “. . . But thank you.” I continue to  grin, affectionately patting in on the head. Calming down, I proceeded to sit on my legs and give him a serious expression.

“Alright, just to be clear, I have no suspicions about you. I’m just working to collect everyone’s alibis and testimonies. You and Kaede were together before her death and you were observing the library together, right?”

“That’s correct.” Shuuichi looks to his knees, unconsciously clenching his fists that rested there. “She. . . I showed her the secret door I found in the library and we decided to work together to capture the mastermind in action so we could end the Killing Game. . .” He pauses for a moment. “When we ran into each other in the library. . . we were setting up for the cameras. . .”

“Ah. I figured it was you.” I hum. “If I had too guess, those sensors told you when someone was in the library or close to the shelf with the secret door. . . “

“. . .So, you notice them. . .” He mumbles, a tad disappointed.

“Only because I sat in the library for about a half hour!” I quickly inform him, unable to bear the look on his face. “If I quickly went in and out, I wouldn’t have had notice them.” He raises his head, giving me a curious look. Which was rather endearing to look at.

“Half an hour. . .? Why were you in there for so long?”

“Waiting for Amami-kun, but that's beside the point.” I wave off. “So you two were sitting here until the sensor went off? . . .How did you even know they went off?”

“Ah, Akamatsu-san and I. . . we asked Iruma-san to make a camera that took pictures whenever movement was detected, every thirty seconds. She also gave us a receiver that would buzz when the sensor picked up movement. . . . We were talking when it went off and I ran out of the room as fast as I could. I. . . I was determined to stop the Mastermind but I completely failed to notice that Akamatsu-san wasn't even following me. . .”

    * “ **Shuuichi’s Testimony** ”; As the last person seen with Kaede, his testimony is important. Together, they were doing a stakeout in Classroom 1-A in order to capture the Mastermind. As soon as the buzzer sounded, he took off running, assuming Kaede was behind him.
    * “ **Camera Receiver** ”; The Receiver buzzes whenever the sensor placed on the moving bookcase goes off. Shuuichi was holding it when it went off.



“Hey, don't blame yourself. . . A lot was happening at the time. . .” I let out a sigh, awkwardly rubbing the back of my head. I’m wasn't even sure if that was the right thing to say. _Was_ there a right thing to say? Someone important to him was fucking murdered. . . Christ. I don't think consoling people about death is a strong point of mine. . .

Putting the thought aside for the moment, I quickly turn to Himiko, who was still clinging to Tenko.

“Himiko, I need your account of what happened, alright?” Himiko doesn't respond at first but after several moments, she nods her head. Reluctantly, Tenko lets go of her and Himiko spins around to face me.

“. . . Amami vanished in the middle of our strategy meeting to go to the bathroom but he was gone for so long that Kaito and Tenko went to look for him.” Himiko proceeds to pout. “But _they_ didn’t come back so I went to look for them. I assumed they were in the cafeteria because they needed a drink or something. . . But. . . When I reached the first floor, I felt it.”

“ **Chaos Magic** , right?

“Mmm, nyah, that's right. . .” Himiko yawns. “But by the time I got here, it was gone. . . and I saw Akamatsu’s body. . . I screamed and then you guys arrived.”

“I see. . .” I thoughtfully utter.

    * “ **Himiko’s Testimony** ”; After Kaito and Tenko went missing, Himiko chose to look for them, she began her search on the first floor and stumbled upon the scene of the crime.



“C- **Chaos Magic**. . .?” Shuuichi stutters, completely baffled by what he was hearing.

“Do you doubt Yumeno-san’s testimony?!” Tenko hisses. Shuuichi flinches slightly.

“N-No, I mean, it _sounds_ accurate but magic. . .? What is **Chaos Magic** supposed to mean?”

“Magic basically come in two sets and each set has a total of three levels.

“ **White Magic** is the basic healing and support spells. Following that is **Holy Magic** , that’s for making protective charms, purify people or things or it can even be used to summon others to the caster’s aid. At the top of that set is **Hope Magic**.

“Below **Black Magic** is **Forbidden Magic**. That’s basically what’s on the tin. It’s magic that’s forbidden because it breaks the laws of life and the laws of the world. At the bottom of **Black Magic** is **Chaos Magic**.

“Hope is the opposite of Chaos. Its a type of magic that weaponizes people’s positive feelings and emotions they experience as they live. On the other hand, Chaos exploits the opposite of those happy feelings. It’s like an infection that eats someone up from the inside, destroying them until they’re nothing but a shell of who they once were, both in the literal and metaphorical sense.” As before, Shuuichi looks dubious.

“That’s. . . uh, very detailed. . .”

“Kazehaya-san, that’s amazing!” Tenko exclaims with excitement. “Did Yumeno-san teach you that?!”

“. . .Yes.” I lie. It’s rather obvious but Tenko doesn’t seem to notice at all. She’s apparently too excited by the prospect to Himiko apparently giving magic lessons. . . . It’s fairly obvious now, but she's attracted to Himiko. Perhaps she’s dreaming of one-on-one lessons with Himiko.

“. . . Are you trying to say magic is involved in Akamatsu-san’s death?” Shuuichi’s tone is apathetic and a bit offended. I sweat a little. Why did I say these things out loud. I must be losing my touch or something lately. Or maybe it was because I knew Himiko understood magic that enabled me to thoughtlessly discussed these things.

“It’s one thing for one person to sense **Chaos Magic** but there _is_ a problem if two people sense it.” Himiko explains. “It could very well manipulate a person or the source is simply watching us. Both are bad options.”

“Just, trust me on this, the world is much weirder than you think it is.” I sigh, looking back to Himiko. “So, What was the state of the classroom when you opened the door?”

“Nope. It was wide open.”

    * “ **Open Door** ”; According to the first witness on the scene, the door to the crime scene was unlocked and wide open, leaving Kaede’s body to be easily found.



“So, a hasty retreat?” Shuuichi ponders. Himiko shrugs, completely at a loss. I blink just a little. Himiko seems to switch personalities based on what she’s talking about. How odd. . . I could question that at a later time I suppose. . .

“I donno. I guess. I’m kinda surprised no one heard anything. . .” She shrugs. “The desks were knocked over and everything. It shoulda made a lot of noise. . .”

“It was because that music was playing.” I sigh. It started playing at about eight forty-five or so and it would have easily drowned out the sound of a murder.

    * “ **Knocked Over Desks** ”; Desks that were once in neat rows are now toppled over. A very clear indication that Kaede didn't go down without a fight.
    * “ **Killing Game Encouragement BGM** ”; At about 08:45, the TVs around campus began to blare a loud and obnoxious song, which could easily drown out the sound of murder and chaos.



“Um, I hope I’m not being rude.” Kiibo suddenly chimes in. “But I was hoping for Saihara-kun’s opinion? Are we really supposed to believe anything Monokuma prepared in _that_ file?” Ah. That was a fair question. Why wouldn't he attempt to fuck with us and give us false information?

“I’ll check.” I answer without skipping a beat. Moving back to Kaede’s side, I carefully pulled Himiko’s cape from the body.

Beginning from her head, I found some bumps and bruises as well as a deep cut on the back of her head. It was deep but nowhere fatal enough.

At her neck were . . .

“Strangulation. . .” Shuuichi softly utters as his fingers delicately touch the markings on Kaede’s neck. I watched him sadly stroke her skin, his fingers trembling the whole time.

“Yeah. . .” I mutter softly. “If I had to take a guess, she hit her head on the desk while being strangled.” I laugh, almost mocking myself. “She didn't make it easy for her killer . . . That’s so like her.” Slowly, my gaze shifted to her torso. The file said her spine was shattered. . . We’d have to move the body to inspect for that. Before I could call out to anyone, Shuuichi began to carefully unfold Kaede’s fingers, to reveal a small heart shaped charm made from a diamond.

That was odd. . . Kaede didn't wear a necklace. So where did this come from. . . ? I let out a quiet gasp as an idea came to mind. It most likely came from her killer! She must have grabbed it as she was attacked. . . But for the killer to not notice this, they were either rushing to leave -- just as the wide open doors or was completely oblivious to this. It wasn’t much, but it was a hint to who did it.

    * “ **Charm** ”; A necklace charm made from diamond and silver found clutched in Kaede’s hand. Possibly belongs to the killer? Either way, she was clutching it so tightly, it’s left an imprint on her hand.



Sitting up a little taller, I take a look around the classroom to see who was present. Currently Kiibo, Ryouma, Maki, Amami, Shuuichi and myself were in the room at the moment. “Amami-kun, Harukawa-chan, can you come over here for a moment?” Amami agrees with a smile while Maki sighs, rather annoyed but she comes over to my side no less.

“What’s up?” He asks with a smile.

“We need to lift Akamatsu-chan’s body to check the condition of her spine. So far the head injury and bruising on her neck checks out.”

“Then I guess it’s safe to assume the blood on the floor is her’s and not her attacker then.” Amami motions to a desk, knocked a strewn over by an open vent.

    * “ **Open Vent ( Classroom )** ”; For an unknown reason, the vent at the scene of the crime is open.



**EVIDENCE UPDATED!**

    * “ **Knocked Over Desks** ”; Desks that were once in neat rows are now toppled over. A very clear indication that Kaede didn't go down without a fight -- her blood can be found on one of the desks and the floor by it.



“. . .Huh? That vent is open?” Shuuichi gasps. I give him a curious look.

“Is it not supposed to be?”

“Well, no.” He replies, placing his hand to his mouth in though. “I initially chose this room as our lookout because this vent is **connected to the library**. I wanted to make sure the Mastermind used only the library entrances so they could be caught on camera.”

“Ah, so you wanted to shut off vent access then. . .” I quietly muse.

“It’s shattered.” Maki states, interrupting Shuuichi and myself.

“Woah. Jesus. What happened to the floor. . . ?” Ryouma questioned as he approached us. I took one glance down and gasped. The floor under Kaede’s body looked as if it impacted with a crater. The hole wasn’t big or anything but the floor was dented and cracks spread across the surface.

“So her spine really was shattered when she hit the ground. . .?” Kiibo questions slowly and with hesitation. Slowly, Shuuichi kneels down and inspects the impact. With a thoughtful finger curled at his chin, Shuuichi’s fingers circle a deep rounded indentation in the center.

“Yes and no.” Shuuichi mumbles. “Kazehaya-san, can you inspect Akamatsu-san’s backpack? I believe an answer is inside it.” I nod my head, extending my hand to Amami.

“Knife, please.” The scene looks completely bizarre as Amami smiles, pulling my switchblade from his pocket and places it in my hand. Flipping the blade open with one hand, I bring it to the straps of her backpack and easily slice through the material. Amami and Maki help lift the body so I could remove the backpack from underneath before carefully place her back down on the floor.

As I lift up the bag, I find myself baffled. Just a little. I know backpacks are bigger and heavier than one would think -- my dad actually gave me shit for this back in high school because he couldn't believe how much shit I actually needed for school -- but, we aren't being educated at this campus. So, what could she be toting around in here. . . ?

I place the bag on the surface of a nearby desk and reached into it. . .  There’s nothing but a spare sweater inside. . . but why a spare sweater? Why would she carry just the sweater? I take the bundle of fabric into my hands only to feel my hand touch something cold and smooth mixed with the fabric.

“What the fuck?” I question out loud. Using both my hands, I pull both fabric and object out. Balancing the cloth covered object in the palm of my hand, I pull the material of the sweater back to discover a single shot put. “What the fuck. . .?” I repeat, completely taken back by this discovery.

    * “ **Kaede’s Backpack** ”; For an unknown reason, it contains a single shot put wrapped in a spare sweater.



Gears slowly turn in my head as Shuuichi explains the small hole in the crater was most likely caused by the shot put. . .and by carrying it in her bag, it must have shattered Kaede’s spine when she was thrown to the floor. But I. . . I glance to the vent. Shuuichi said it was connected to the library. . . and I remember. There was an open vent in the library. Kaede. What the hell were you doing. . .?

“I think. . .that's all we’ll find here.” I mumble. “We need to figure out everyone’s alibis and testimonies.”

“I already gave mine to Amami.” Ryouma states with a sigh. “Kiibo, Ouma and myself were all hold up in our rooms at the time of the crime.”

“Is that so?” I ask curiously.

“Yep. Not like we can prove it.”

“Yeah, but I doubt you're lying.”

    * “ **Ryouma’s Testimony** ”; At the time of the crime -- Ryouma, Ouma and Kiibo were all in their dorm rooms.



“How about you Harukawa-chan?”

“Are you suspecting me?” She questions, narrowing her eyes for a moment.

“Nah.” I shrug. She continues to give me that deadly look but I don't falter, leading to her sighing with exasperation. 

“You should. Everything is a bit too convenient for my tastes. Your idiot boyfriend tried to organize a counterattack against Monokuma in the Game Room.” She states flatly. My face falls, just a bit. “He gathered those who he vaguely thought would be good in a fight.”

“. . . I question his choices.”

“He said ‘Yumeno can use magic’ and ‘Yonaga can use god’.” I place my face in my hands for a moment before dragging my fingers down my face with a sigh.

“I love him but he's such a goddamn football.”

“. . .A football?”

“Just. . . Just don't question my shitty choice in words.”

“But, what about you?” Shuuichi asks slowly.  Maki sends him a sharp look. He flinches slightly and attempts to cover his face with his hat, only to forget it’s long gone from it’s usual perch.

“He said ‘yeah, you look like you can fight’.”

Oh my god Kaito.

“I see. . .” Shuuichi mumbles. “Then, when I ran into Momota-kun and Chabashira-san, they must have been looking for Amami-kun. . .”

“Whoops.” Amami laughs, rubbing the back of his head. “I had plans to meet up with Kazehaya-san in the library, so I had to slip out! But, did Gokuhara-kun ever come out from the **backroom**?”

“The backroom?” I question. I never actually took a glance over the Game Room so i was a little surprised to hear about some extra room attached to it.

“Yeah. He went in the AV Room as soon as we arrived. . . and he never left.” Maki grunts.

“He was alone in the AV Room the entire time? That’s rather suspicious.” Amami muses.

“It’s Gonta.” I deadpan.

“Don't ignore the possibility.” Maki glares.

“I’d rather pursue a logical explanation,” I sigh. “but, then again, I don't exactly deal with _logical_ things. . . Anything _is_ possible under the right circumstances. . . I’ll get some answers from him.”

    * “ **Maki’s Testimony** ”: A basic testimony of those in the Game Room in the basement. Kaito gathered people who he thought to be good fighters -- Maki, Gonta, Himoko, Tenko, Amami and Angie -- to coordinate a counterattack against Monokuma. However, Gonta immediately locked himself in the AV Room, about fifteen minutes into the meeting Amami left the Game Room and after Kaito and Tenko left to look for Amami, Himiko left the room to look for them.



“They’re probably arguing about it downstairs.” Maik mumbles as she pulls Himiko’s cape over Kaede’s body once more. For as cold as Maki seems, she does seem to care for others to some extent. At least, that’s the only reason why I think she would bother to cover Kaede’s body up once more. Nonetheless, Amami, Shuuichi and myself entered the hallway where we found Toujou and Shinguuji standing around. I swiftly approached Toujou as I had some questions in mind.

“Toujou, can you help me?”

“I shall do the best I can. . .” She says with a smile and bow of her head. “What’s occupying your mind?"

“You clean the school; top to bottom -- everyday -- right?” God. That sounds like a fucking nightmare. Cleaning up after at least fifteen other teenagers.

“That is correct.” But she’s only smiling. She must really enjoy her work. . .

“Then, did you open the vents in the classroom and the library?” She gives me a quizzical look before shaking her head.

“I did not. They were sealed close as always.”

**EVIDENCE UPDATED!**

    * “ **Open Vent ( Classroom )** ”; For an unknown reason, the vent at the scene of the crime is open. According to Toujou, it was closed and locked when she was cleaning earlier today.
    * “ **Open Vent ( Library )** ”; For an unknown reason, the vent in the Library is open, just as I last saw it. According to Toujou, it was closed and locked when she was cleaning earlier today.



“I see. . . What about your alibi?”

“Ah yes, I was in the dining room with Iruma-san, Shinguuji-kun, Shiorgane-san and Hekoten-san. We were eating a dinner made by the Monokubs.” Toujou’s face visibly falls and she frowns.

“. . .Oh.”

“They unfortunately insisted on preparing it and forced me out of the kitchen. I believe the dish was called ‘A Grandmother who eats cake she bought for her grandchild's birthday all by herself’ pasta.”

“What the hell. . .” I whisper to myself.

“My, that’s quite a name. . .” Amami laughs awkwardly. 

    * “ **Toujou’s Testimony** ”; She, Miu, Tsumugi, Ikiko and Shinguuji were in the dining room, eating dinner during the time of Kaede’s murder.



“Is that all Kazehaya-san?”

“Oh, yeah, thank you!” Toujou smiles, bowing once more. “I wish you luck on your investigation.”


	8. {01} Unordinary Days {02}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry crisis eve

[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

“Hey,” Miu greets with a grunt. “if you're looking for your fucking cameras, they’re gone.” Shuuichi blinks.

“Gone? Where did they go?”

“The cubs stole them.” Ouma sighs, checking his nails with boredom. “They said they’d develop the film themselves.”

“Ah, but what if they try to take some photos for themselves?” Amami inquires. God. That is true. We have no idea where they are and there’s nothing really stopping them from taking certain photos if they wanted to make the trial ‘interesting’.

“They said they wouldn't do that.” Miu grumbles. “I can't believe you commissioned fucking cameras for something as shitty as this Shittyhara.”

    * “ **Cameras** ”; Cameras Shuuichi commissioned from Miu. They active based on sound and sensors, set to go off at a set time of every thirty seconds. The Cameras were taken by the Monokubz so the film could be developed.



“I am offended on his behalf.” I immediately cut in. Miu shriveled just a bit, apparently surprised to be called out on her shitty nicknames for others.

“Kazehaya-san. . .  it’s not necessary. . .” Shuuichi mumbles, his cheeks flushing red.

“Not necessary?? Of course it is!” I shoot back. “Shuuichi Saihara is a nice name! Its pretty!” His blush grew redder and so did I as it dawned on me what the fuck I just said.

“Oh, I see how it is.” Ouma suddenly looks our way, his eyes sparkling. “You want to take his surname for yourself!! Yuuki Saihara-chan!”

“No.” I answer without skipping a beat.

“Geez!” Ouma frowns, looking teary eyed. “You rejected him so quickly! I’m so sorry Saihara-chaaaaaan!”

“T-That's not what I mean!” I shout, my face flushed red. “I don't take _any_ of my partner’s surnames, because if I took all of them, my name would be way too long and I can't take just one because I don't want to play favoritism! That’s asinine. With the arrangement we worked out, the child born from one of my partners or adopted _with_ them will carry _their_ surname.”

“Adopt?” Ouma repeats. He tilts his head as if he’s heard something that makes zero sense. He then break out into a smile. “Don't be stupid Kazehaya-chan!! No one loves orphans!!!”

“Jokes on you, I am an orphan.”

If we get _really_ technical I sure as hell am.

Nonetheless, my words leave Ouma silent in a dumb shock which, in turn, causes Miu to break into laughter, cackling how she couldn't believe I, of all people, stunned Ouma into silence. I roll my eyes, and lift a finger to point to the secret door.

“Huh? What about that fucking door? I donno how it was broken, Gonta probably swung his dick around and smashed it--”

“I did it.”

“What.”

“I smashed that door.” I smile innocently. “I may smack you just like it if you keep calling people terrible names.” Her eyes widen like saucers and she begins to tremble.

“T-There’s no way you. . . you did that. . .”

“I sure as hell did. Behold,” I simply approach the door and slam my fist right into it once more. Miu lets out a gargled shriek as she watches the metal crunch under my fist but I’m simply smiling. “Ta-dah!” Ouma’s eyes light up and stars shimmer in his eyes. He lets out a dramatic gasp, slapping his hands on his cheeks.

“ONEE-CHAAAAN IS SO COOOOOOL!!” Ouma suddenly slides closer to me, to the point he was pressed against my body. I’m ignoring the fact that due to our height, he’s kinda in my boobs. I don't think he really cares for that however. “Hey, onee-chan, wanna know something cool?” He questions in a low voice. I sigh.

“Sure, why not.”

“The books in the library are stacked really _oddly_.” With that said, Ouma took off running with a giggle. Reluctantly, or out of obligation and/or fear, Miu scampered off after him. Humming, I glance to the books stacked on top of the shelves. . . They don't look out of place. . .  but, even with Ouma’s compulsive lying, there had to be something about them. He wouldn't bring this up without reason. At least not while his life was on the line.

“Shuuichi-kun, who took care of these books?” I asked pointing to the top of the shelf. He uneasily glances to the side and that’s enough for any of us to tell that it was Kaede.

    * “ **Stacked Books** ”; According to Ouma, a number of books in the library are stacked oddly. Apparently it was Kaede’s handy work to prevent someone from entering from the Vents.



Spotting a nearby rolling platform ladder, and I proceeded to climb it with my hands firmly on the handrails. As I climbed upwards, nothing about how the books stacked seem out of the ordinary but that changed once I made it to the top of the platform. The stack of books did not extend to the wall, instead, it was one tall row of books stacked ontop of eachother. . .  and behind it was a series of books arranged like a ramp.

“Amami-kun, can you and Shuuichi-kun move the ladder to my right? I wanna check something out that way.” Amami gave me a dubious look, while crossing his arms and Shuuichi glanced away.

“Are you sure about that?”

“If this is about my skirt, the petticoat is thick so you won't be able to see anything if you glanced up. We do have a time limit so let's not waste it on the tiny details.” Amami shook his head, muttering how that wasn't a tiny detail, but, despite his protests, he pulled pull the ladder along as Shuuichi reluctantly pushed it. As we approached the vent, I requested for a stop.

An open vent that connected to the classroom upstairs and a ramp of books . . .  Oh God.

“Kazehaya-san . . .?” Shuuichi questions slowly. Hesitantly, I pull the shot put from Kaede’s backpack and send it down the path. It rolls, filling the room with this cruel and haunted dull rumble. It was an uneasy and long minute as the shot traveled down the path. At the end of it were four opened books, the iron ball slotted into the middle of the books and rolled. .  . falling off the top of the shelf and falling. . . . falling. . .

**THUD**

It hit the floor with a loud thud. Right in front of the spot where one of the camera were previously set. The room is filled with an utterly deafening silence. I clench my fists uncomfortably. Shuuichi chokes out an uncomfortable ‘why’ but his question is met with silence.

“. . .That could have been you.” I finally mutter. “If you didn't listen to me. . . and you approached that camera like you originally intended. . .that could have been you. . .”

“That was most likely the intention of the flash.” Amami mutters. He steps away from the ladder to recollect the shot put. “Saihara-kun wouldn’t intentionally leave the flash on a camera if he was trying to collect proof of the mastermind in action.”

Shuuichi looks horrified at this revelation. He’s sweating just a bit and his hands trembling as they clutch the ladder railing. I can’t blame him for his reaction. He trusted Kaede, he believed in her and he lost her, but the more we look for evidence for this case, the less we find for someone going after her. . . but more of _her_ going after someone. . .

With the pieces of the puzzle in hand, I can clearly see her intentions. . . but Jesus Christ, Kaede. . . Was all of this genuinely necessary? She didn’t need to soil her hands with blood. Not when I could be the one soiled.

    **EVIDENCE UPDATED!**

    * “ **Stacked Books** ”; According to Ouma, a number of books in the library are stacked oddly. Apparently it was Kaede’s handy work to prevent someone from entering from the Vents. Behind one set of stacked books is what appears to be a ramp of books.
    * “ **Cameras** ”; Cameras Shuuichi commissioned from Miu. They active based on sound and sensors, set to go off at a set time of every thirty seconds. The Cameras were taken by the Monokubz so the film could be developed. Only the camera by the secret door was set to use flash.



With my mind consumed with conflicting thoughts, I fail to properly descend from the ladder. A yelp escapes me as I tumble towards the ground. Despite knowing I would not suffer any consequences I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for impact. . .

But instead, I collide with something soft and I feel shaking arms wrapped around me. Moments pass before I open my eyes to find Shuuichi resting on his knees, clutching my body to his trembling form. He refuses to let go as my attempts to stand only makes him clutch me tighter and he shakes his head against my shoulder.

“I was scared.” He mumbles. A beat passes before he repeats ‘scared’ over and over again. Careful not to startle him, I wrap an arm around his body and bring my other hand to his head. Gently, I run the hand over his hair, patting the ahoge down for it to spring back up. It was pretty cute and comical. . .

“That’s okay.” I assure him. “This is all _different_ from what you’ve known before. This case is a hard one and I know it’s not painting Akamatsu-chan in a positive light at the moment but I’m certain she did not have any ill intentions to us. In fact, I’m sure she wanted to save us all.”

“How can you say that?” His soft voice begs. “She lied to me and made. . . this. . .!”

“Well, because I believe in her and the evidence says so.” I simply state. “Yes she made this, but, she had no idea anyone else would enter the library. She thought only the mastermind would and when they did, they’d fall into her trap and. . . well, die.”

“It was a bold and reckless plan,” Amami explains as he returns to our side, the shot put in hand. “but it was done without malicious or selfish actions -- it was a chance she took so we could survive.”

“You don’t have to forgive her for lying to you,” I say gently. “but try to understand her position.” I’m not entirely sure if my words are cruel or not. Maybe they are. . .  but, I do believe Kaede only wanted to do the best for everyone.

“I. . .I think she wanted to help everyone too. . . more than anything.” Shuuichi softly admits. “She was always smiling and trying her best to help and encourage others.” His soft voice fills my heart with ease. I’m glad he can at least, to some extent, see the positive in her actions. Kaede will not be free of guilt or punishment in the afterlife for her attempt to kill another, but, I doubt she’ll receive anything severe.

 

“Then, believe in her.” With a smile, I rise to my feet and pull Shuuichi to his feet. He nearly loses his footing for a moment. To save him from a spill, I wrap an arm around his waist and with the other hand, I intertwine our fingers as a warm smile graces my face. “We’ll work together to make sure her dream comes true!”

“Gay.” Amami comments. There was nothing malicious about it. Just a an amused expression on his face as he casually tosses the shotput up and catches it.

“Don't juggle the evidence man.” I deadpan. I take a glance at the TV screen, there was a countdown screen on it, indicating that we only had twenty seven minutes left. I take the shot put back, and place it back into Kaede’s bag, which is shoved back into my purse. Without even thinking about it, I take Shuuichi by the hand and lead both him and Amami out of the library and over to the Game Room.

The Game Room was exactly what was on the tin. A room filled with games and arcade machines -- a DDR machine with a broken screen, a couple seated games and fighting games -- it even had that horrible carpeting you’d see at an arcade. To the back was a shelf filled with games and a table with a number of seats arranged around it.

Against the farthest wall was a single sliding door, which would lead to the AV Room. The AV Room was pretty high tech looking, at least compared to the rest of the school, to some extent. It had powerful speakers, nice reclining couches and shelves full of movies. . .but one would have to use a projector and screen to watch something.

All of that aside, Himiko was in the room -- looking a bit better -- arguing that Gonta was the killer. He attempted to argue back that he was not, while Kaito tried to assure him he didn't think he was and try to calm Himiko down.

“Wait! Gonta did not murder anyone!”

“I told ya. . . We’re not suspicious of you! We just wanna talk--”

“Nope. He did it.” Himiko simply states. “He has the face of a killer.”

“Do not judge Gonta based on outside! Gonta is gentleman on the inside! Kazehaya-san is helping Gonta become a better gentleman!”

“I see. . .” Himiko hums. “You were gonna go after Kazehaya. . . but you couldn't find her, so you went after Akamatsu instead. . .”

“Gonta would never!”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t Himiko . . .” I mumble, scratching my cheek. All eyes turned to the three of us. Kaito beams.

“Oh, hey Kiriri! I didn't know you and Saihara were a thing too! Good choice! He’s a good kid! He’ll totally make your dazzling smile shine as often as possible!” I squint my eyes. Amami laughs.

“You’re holding Saihara-kun’s hand.” My face grows even redder, I spit out an apology as I let go of his hand. Shuuichi awkwardly plays with his bangs as he looks away and informs me it was just fine. I loudly cough.

“A-Anyway, I have some questions Gonta-kun, can I ask them?” I inquire. Gonta looked a bit uncomfortable, perhaps even a bit betrayed. I smile calmly. “Don't worry, I doubt you did the crime. I just want to understand some things.”

“Gonta sees. . . He will try his best to help.”

“Thank you.” I smile. “Now, I was told you went to the AV Room as soon as you arrived, why is that?” Gonta cracks an awkward smile and rubs the back of his neck.

“Gonta was happy to be invited to the strategy meeting. . .” He crosses his arms with a frown -- or was it a pout? “But, Gonta is not very smart! He didn't think he could help so, Gonta watched a documentary on bugs! Gonta knows Kazehaya-san does not like bugs, but it was also very informative and it raised Gonta’s fighting spirit!”

“Ah. . .” That was . . . a rather unexpected answer.

“But why’d you lock the door?” Kaito questions. Okay. That’s concerning no matter how you slice it. . . Even more so that the room has a side door to exit from.

“Gonta just wanted to concentrate! If Gonta cannot concentrate, he cannot raise his fighting spirit! That’s really it! Gonta wants to protect everyone but. . . ! But no one wants to believe Gonta!”

“That’s suspicious no matter what you say.” Himiko pouts.

“It’s too early to make the call.” I sigh.

“Ah, Momota-kun,” Shuuichi calls, Kaito blinks a bit but faces him with a smile.

“Yo! What’s up?”

“You were the one who organized the strategy meeting, correct?” For a brief moment, Kaito glanced my way. I squinted my eyes. He sweats and immediately glances way.

“Y-Yeah. . .” Kaito puts a fist on his hip and focuses on Shuuichi to avoid my scrutiny. “It’s natural that you’d suspect me, but! I didn’t do it! I swear on the universe itself!” He pounds his fists together rather seriously and enthusiastically. I quietly snort to which he grins at. “I don't really remember _when_ but I went around and recruited people one by one. . . then we made our way downstairs.”

“I see, and you all remained down here?” Shuuichi inquires.

“Yeah, I donno, it was a bit after we arrived downstairs that weird music began to play. . . And as soon as got to the Game Room, Gonta went to the AV Room and locked himself in. I can attest that Yonaga, Harukawa and Yumeno were in the room when Chabashira and I left to search for Amami.”

“Right, just as Harukawa-san said.” Shuuichi murmurs. I glance to the side, noticing Amami is approaching the sliding door in the top of the right wall. He gives it a curious look over before attempting to slide it back. The door completely fails to open more than an inch or two. Ultimately, proving it would be impossible for someone like Gonta to slip out the door. For a sliding door to get stuck like that, it must have a poor fitting.

    * “ **Door with Poor Fitting** ”; An AV Room door that can barely open but is parallel to library’s back door.



“I see. . .” Shuuichi murmurs, bring my attention back to him and Kaito. “Well, we didn't learn anything new from that. . .”

“At least we confirmed a number of albies.” I sighed.

“Which means I’m not cleared of suspicion.” Kaito frowns.

“Ah, it’s not like we suspect you. . .” Shuuichi tries to assure him but that only seems to piss Kaito off. He raises a clenched fists and narrows his eyes.

“Hey, that’s NOT something a detective should say!” Shuuichi visibly jumps, taken by surprise by Kaito’s aggressiveness. He fumbles over his words but Kaito continues before he can get anything in edgewise. “If you suspect me, you better pursue me until the end! Investigate until you're satisfied.” Amami quietly snorts to the side and I can already hear him uttering ‘gay’. “Otherwise you’ll never reach the truth, unless you intend to waste Akamatsu’s death! Show me the true potential of the ‘ **Super High School Level Detective** ’ talent!”

Shuuichi looks a bit uneasy. Our conversation from earlier today made it clear before that has very little faith in his talent despite the fact he gained such a title. . .  but there also seems to be a fire building in his gold-silver eyes. He wants to become a better detective so he can help everyone and fulfil Kaede’s dying wish.

“Well, if you notice anything or see something, don't forget to tell us.” Kaito beams, sending me a thumbs up.

“Don't worry! I won't leave everything to you two, I’ll be looking into the investigation my own way!”

“Is that so?” I gently smile, making him blush. “Make sure to do so with care. I’ll still kick your ass later although.” My tone suddenly takes a dark turn at the last statement. He visibly pales and begins to sweat.

“W-What? Kiriri? Why?!”

“Because I told you not to do anything stupid or dangerous but instead you organize an entire resistance army.” I deadpan. Kaito’s fear vanishes to replaced with annoyance. Oh boy. This is his flaw isn’t it? To be a hero and do something. Jesus Christ. I should have seen this coming with the way he stood up to anything and everything that seemed unfair. . .

“What? So, I was supposed to sit around and do nothing?!” He demands. “Our lives were on the line!”

“Of course they were! Everyone’s lives were in danger, but I told you I’d be able to handle it!”

“I’m not going to let you run off and be a hero that dies alone! That’s fucking stupid!”

“As if those shitty bears could kill me!” Crossing my arms I let out a sigh as I angrily glanced to the side. “Kaito, I don’t think you honestly understand me when I say I’ve gone to war. Yeah, I didn’t kill any soldiers or any innocent civilians but that doesn’t mean these hands are clean of blood.” To emphasize my agony about this entire conversation I raised my hands, shaking them in front of his eyes. “I . . . I don’t know if you could ever understand the shit I go through just to _live_! But, damn it, I spend so much more time worrying about my friends and family becoming targets because of my efforts to help others, but, fuck it! I’ll face a thousand armies to protect them!”

“H-Hey, Yuuki. . .” I suddenly come to a stop at the use of first name. It’s not my name, but for the time being it is, and he says with with such a soft cautious tone. “. . .You said you didn’t want me to get involved because you were scared, right?” For a moment, my breath is caught in my throat and after a long pause, I let out a trembling sigh.

“I. . .Yeah.” I mutter softly, playing with my hands and avoiding eye contact with him. Gently, take takes my hand and holds it tightly. With his other one, he tilts my head up, forcing me to look at him. “I’m so tired of failing to protect others and losing what I love. _I’m so tired of it_.” I confess. Carefully, his hand moves to my cheek, cuping it and sofly wiping away tears that were rolling down my cheek.

“Yuuki, I’m sorry,”

“I’m. . . me too. . .” I sigh softly, leaning into his touch. “I didn't mean to get angry. I’m just. . .  scared. . .  I’m not asking you to change yourself, but, please leave the dangerous things to me. . .” Kaito looks conflicted for several moments before leaning into lightly kiss me on my lips

“I guess. . . I can do that. . .” He mumbles, his cheeks flushed red. I manage to smile back, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him down down for a tight hug.

**Ding dong dang dong. . . !**

_“A body has been discovered! Please head to the location of discovery, Dining Hall!”_

The moment the TV turned on, we all looked to it with disbelief. There was already a murder. . . and now someone else is dead . . .? Or. . . were they killed before Kaede died and their body went undiscovered until now. . .?

“Are you . . . shitting me. . .?” I choke. Kaito’s hand squeeze my shoulders with uneasy tension. He was as lost as I was. . .  No. We were all lost. None of us thought a double murder would be possible. Did the killer attack again? Or was it a completely different person?

. . . but would was even the point of that?!

I look around to notice the grave looks on the faces of others. . .but also an absence of Himiko.

“Where is Himiko. . . ?”

“Yumeno-san left in the middle of your argument with Momota-kun. . .” Gonta mumbles. He’s as uneasy as anyone else but he also looks. . . concerned.  “Kazehaya-san, Gonta does not understand the things you say. . . but is Kazehaya-san okay. . . ?”

“I’m fine now.” I sigh, playing with my fingers. “I’m sorry any of you had to see that. . .but if it’s not too weird, can none of you say anything about . . . the stuff I mentioned? My personal life is . . .complex to say the least and I don't want it to be out in the open just yet.”

“Yet?” Shuuichi repeats

“I don't mind sharing it, but. . .”

“You’ve yet to form proper opinions about everyone.” Amami states with a shrug of his shoulders. “So, sharing details about your past doesn't make you feel comfortable. You’re the type of person that only shares things with people you trust, right?” I blink, taken by surprise by Amami’s observational skills.

“Ah, yeah. . .”

“Ah, don't worry, your secrets are safe with me, as always.” With a smile on his face, he heads to the only working door and exits the room. Him leaving only reminded me of what was waiting for us on the floor above. I gulp uneasily and exit the room as well.

Together, we ran as fast as we could to the scene of the crime with a thousand questions rushed through our minds. Wondering how this happened and why did it have to be this way. As we approached the dining hall I could hear the sounds of loud heartbroken and distressed wails.

[ **\- Body Discovery A -** ](https://youtu.be/dQch5ejWp6s)

Pushing the dining hall doors open, I was greeted with the sight of Ikiko hugging a body close to her own, sobbing into the victim’s hair. The victim’s arm uselessly laid limply at their side, signs of tears on their distressed face, which was tinted an unsettling purple hue, their mouth open in a distress cry and around their neck was signs of strangulation with an object.

A pair of glasses were broken on the floor, frames twisted and glass shattered. Gently Tenko attempts to comfort the girl but Ikiko sobs harder; whispering ‘Shi-chan’ again and again.

The victim was none other than **Tsumugi Shirogane** , the **Super High School Level Cosplayer**. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall get a second dead body


	9. {01} Unordinary Days {03}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the final preparations of the class trial

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

“Wow! You bastards are really excited about killing now!” Monokuma exclaims as he appears.

“Fuck off!” Kaito shouts with irritation, clenching his fist. Monokuma looks to his stubby feet sadly.

“I just wanted to give you a Monokuma file. . .”

“. . .What do we do now?” I ask slowly. Others give me a confused expression. I simply sigh, placing my hands on my hips. “I mean, the rules don't exactly have guidelines for what to do if _two_ people die. We don't even know if the killer is the same, what do we do if it’s _not_ the same killer?”

“I’m surprised you actually have a question for me!” Monokuma sweats. “Could you. . . be in love with me?!”  
  
“Regret.” Is all I had to say as I grimace.

“Ah, well, I had a rule prepared for this scenario! Basically, only the first found victim matters.”

“. . . So Akamatsu-san’s murder will be the focus of the trial.” Shuuichi inquires.

“Yep!”

“. . .And as a consequence, we will have to live with the second Blackened?”

“Mmm. . .” Monokuma hums as if he’s putting actual thought into this before his usual eerie smile split across his face. “Yep!” Uncomfortable murmurs fill the air around us, most likely his intentions with such a shitty rule. Distrust would blossom and it would be more likely that people would attack each other.

That fucker. . .

**RULE ADDED!**

  * **#16:** If two different murders by two different murderers occur at the same time, only the one whose victim was found first will be the Blackened.



“Shi-chan! What about Shi-chan!?” Ikiko demands, hugging her deceased friend’s body. Monokuma only chuckles at her distress.

“Unimportant! A rather fitting ending for a wallflower as her!” Ikiko hugs Shirogane’s body tighter, glaring at Monokuma to the best of her abilities through her tears.

“Shi-chan isn't unimportant! Shi-chan is . . .! Shi-chan is . . .!”

“A waste.” Monokuma chuckles.

“That’s enough!” I shout, waving my arm across the horizon in a swift motion.

“Shirogane-san was a nice woman!” Gonta exclaims, just as distressed as Ikiko was.

“I won't allow you to talk poorly about a deceased woman!” Tenko growls, jumping up to here feet into an attack formation. “She lived honorably doing what she loved!” A few more people protested but Monokuma decides to shut them all up by delivering the Monokuma file and vanishing from the scene.

    * “ **Monokuma File 2** ”; Victim: Tsumugi Shirogane. Time of Death was approximately 9:15 PM. The location of body discovery was the Dining Hall. Death was caused by a asphyxiation. Body has no other signs of injury.



[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

“Nine fifteen. . .” Amami mutters, thoughtfully cupping his chin with one hand as he stared at his MonoPad.

“Akamatsu-chan’s file says she died at nine ten, and according to Toujou-chan’s testimony Shirogane-chan was alive before Akamatsu-chan died.” I recite the facts thoughtfully but it wasn’t adding up for me.

“So, she died in a minimum of a five minute timespan between Akamatsu-san’s body discovery announcement and everyone gathering at the location?” Shuuichi questions.

“But everyone quickly gathered at the classroom. I remember seeing everyone _but_ Shirogane-chan.” I sigh. “Besides, doesn't like strangulation usually take like ten minutes to do?”

“Three actually,” Shuuichi corrects.

“Three, huh?” I mumble. Why the hell did I say ten? Where did I even get that from?

“Well, I guess in that time frame it’s possible. . .” Amami sighs. “but, is it even possible to separate her from the group in the dining hall without incriminating themself?”

“It is with magic.” Himiko comments. “Cloning is a basic **Black Magic** , as long as the caster has experience in the proper elemental magic.”

Which is exactly why my attempts all failed horrifically. No one died or anything but the results was two clones gaining sentience and taking on their own lives. I have no idea, to this day, _where_ they are living although. Hopefully they’re well off.

“Kazehaya-san. . . what’s with that look. . .?” Shuuichi ask slowly. I blink, quizzically tilting my head.

“What look?"

“You had a thousand yard stare as you gazed at the wall for a two minutes.” Amami explains.

“Complicated to explain and would take too long.”

“ **Black Magic**.” Himiko repeats in a soft voice while wiggling her fingers.

“ _It is_ a possibility.” I sigh in exasperation. “However, there's next to no way to prove any magic was used or who cast it. There’s not a single **wave** around here.”

“A **wave** , you say?” Amami inquires.

“Think of it like a fingerprint. Each and every magic caster has a unique magical wave that belongs to them and them alone.”

“. . . You did say you couldn’t sense the source of some **Chaos Magic** before. . .” Shuuichi mumbles. “But if there’s no traces of waves, how can you be sure of there being any **Chaos Magic** in the first place?”

“Sensing has nothing to do with waves. It’s just . . . sensing. Kinda like now a metal detector works. I guess. Like, you don’t know what metal is hidden but you sure as hell know it’s magic.” I suddenly pause, realizing what i just said. “Er, metal. Most people with magic can sense waves but have trouble differentiating them unless they’ve had training for that . . . but they usually don’t know how _bad_ it can be unless they’ve come in contact with it before.” I take a moment to gather my thoughts. That. . . that sounded simple enough. Hopefully they would understand what I’m trying to explain. With a heavy sigh, I continue where I left off.

“On the other hand, my body **_is_ ** kinda like a **special radar**. I have an **unusually high rate of** **Hope Magic** **in my body**. This is where the phrase ‘the bigger the light the greater the shadow is’ or ‘the inker the darkness is the brighter the light shines’ comes into play.”

“You naturally can differentiate each other.” Amami frowns, crossing his arms. “. . . So, something _is_ crawling on the campus besides us.” I blink, taken back by his words.

“Excuse me?”

“I heard you and Yumeno-san talking at Ouma-kun’a birthday. . . I didn’t really know what to think of it, but after what I’ve witnessed, I’m pretty sure you’re not pulling anyone’s leg.”

“Kazehaya-san. . . What is he talking about?” Shuuichi’s voice is timid. I can’t blame him for his reaction. He’s a normal human boy after all. Magic is not in his realm of work and he’s being hit with too much information at once.

“I can’t explain here. There’s not enough time and there’s too many people.” I sigh, doing my best to ignore my trembling fingers as they clutch at my forearms arms uncomfortably. Discussing these things always scared me. I never know how people will react when I tell them of my magical nature. It’s not always a smooth process. . . and the fear of rejection scares me. I can't help I was . . . born this way. . .

“I know all this stuff makes me look . . . weird or scary, but please, _please_ , **_please_** understand I want nothing more than everyone to be safe. That’s why I work so hard to preach to others. I’ll be glad to share what I can with you after the trial and cremations. **I trust you Shuuichi-kun** , so please, trust in me despite my oddities.” To my surprise, he pries one of my hands from my arms and carefully holds it, just like I did for him when he was struggling in the Library.

“. . . Okay. I mean, I already do. I’m just confused and uncertain on how to deal with it. . .” He gives me a shy smile. . . even though he’s still shaking himself. . . but this beautiful smile says so much. . .

“Just leave magic and dangerous stuff to me!” I manage to laugh with a crooked smile.

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

  1. There’s been a murder. Peace has been absolutely murdered by the Monokubz.



The five dual colored cubs appeared with very little warning, shocking everyone as usual but I’m still feeling rather numb about all these bears popping up by now. . .  but I’m willing to slide when I see Monotaro is holding three envelopes in his little paws.

“DETECTIVE BASTARD!!! YOUR HOT PICS ARE READY!!!” Monotaro beams, waving three envelopes about.

“HOT PICS MY ASS!! THERE'S NO NAKED GIRLS!!” Monokid shouts in utter outrage. I swear I hear Miu whisper ‘naked girls’ in the distance. I dare not look back to see the expression on her face.

“Well, each camera’s photos is in their own envelope!” Monophanie smiles as Monotaro hands over the goods to Shuuichi. “Hopefully these will help with your investigation!” With that said, the bears took their leave, calling ‘ **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**!’ as they go.

[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

“Pictures. . . what exactly did they capture?” Kiibo asks out loud.

“I donno,” I shrug. “If I have to guess, most of it is me and Amami since we were inside the library. . .”

“Let’s take a look,” Shuuichi offers with a nervous smile. “I’m certain that it will help prove your and Amami-kun’s alibi.”

“Are there hot pics of onee-chan punching stuff??” Ouma asks, popping up in the space between Shuuichi’s arms and the envelopes in his hands. “She’s so cool when she’s beating things up!!”

“She’s a preacher.” Shinguuji reminds him. “I have doubts she can beat anyone up.”

“Kazehaya-san most certainly has the power to do so!” Tenko exclaims, raising a hand as if she’s ready to attack. “The bearer of a beautiful heart but heavy with burdens that she must carry alone! She has an immense power to do so!!”

“Is that so?” He muses. Ignoring the most of them, I pulled a pen from my bag and offered it to Shuuichi as he laid the photos out on the table for others to see.

“What’s this for?”

“Uh, I thought it would be a good idea to number them with times and order. . .”

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

“Ah, that is.” He nods. He lifts up the very first photo from the set that came from the ‘Front Door’ envelope, a photo of myself entering the library from the front doors. “When did you enter the library?”

“Eight, I was supposed to meet with Amami-kun at eight thirty.” Nodding his head, Shuuichi writes down a **01** and **20:00** on the backside of the photo.

“Why go so early?” Maki questions. I shrug.

“I didn't want to be late. Better early than late, right?” She raises a dubious brow but says nothing more. I then point out the entire set from the ‘Back Door’ pile.

“This was about Eight forty-five,” I explain, pointing to the photo of me leaving the library via the backdoor. “Amami-kun was late and that music started to play. . . and then I heard Kaito’s voice so I went to investigate. I came back a minute or two when I saw them head into the Game Room.”

“. . . So you knew the entire time.” Kaito mumbles, sweating a bit. I respond with a simple yep and then tap the Photo of Amami entering the library from the back door, I was barely caught in the photo, at most my hand and part of my veil was visible.

“Amami-kun arrived about ten minutes later.” Nodding, Shuuichi got to work labeling the photos. **02** and **20:45** on the first photo, followed by **03** and **20:47** and **04** and **20:57** on the last image. We moved along to the Secret Door photos, a set composed of. The first from that set was a photo of myself and Amami standing by the closed bookshelf door.

“Ah, this was shortly after we talked, so, nine-ish.” Shuuichi marked it as **05** and **21:01**. The following photo was when after the camera’s flash went off. Amami was approaching the camera with the intention of turning it off, but I stopped him, causing him to look back at me with a rather baffled expression. “. . .After the camera’s flash went off. . .” The photo is marked with **06** and **21:01**.

“The camera’s flash was on?”

“Because someone _obviously_ tampered with it!” Ouma giggles

“Ah, but for what purpose?” Shinguuji thoughtful questions.

“Who knows.” I lie with a shrug. I look back to the photos, pointing out the picture of the bookcase door wide open, a secret door exposed to Amami and myself. “Anyway, I told Amami not to bother with the cameras found the button between book shelves and opened the bookcase door.” The photo is labeled with **07** and **21:02** . . . and followed up with a picture of Amami with his face in his hands as I wound up a punch to knock the door down; **08** and **21:02**

Four or more so photos followed of me attacking the door before a new one surfaced, a photo of Amami facing the library’s front door while I clutched my chest and the back of his shirt, this one was labeled with **09** and **21:05**.

Shuuichi returned to the front door photos to pull out the picture of himself running into the library with Kaito and Tenko in tow. Kaito looked ready to rumble, pushing his right sleeve up with his left hand. Tenko looked rather determined, her fists ready and raised to fight. This final photo was labelled as **10** and **21:05**.

Off to the side, I noticed some spare photos. . . One if a close up of Ouma’s face, his eyes sparkling with delight, another of him with big wide eyes and ‘O’ shaped mouth and one of Miu with a rather annoyed expression on her face.

“Oh, if I had to guess, these are photos from when the cameras were taken down.”

    * “ **Front Door Photos** ”; Yuuki enters the library through the front door; Kaito, Shuuichi and Tenko rushing into the library through the front door; A close up of Ouma’s face.
    * “ **Back Door Photos** ”; Photos of Yuuki exiting, and reentering the library from the backdoor; Amami entering the library from the backdoor and a hint of Yuuki can be seen in this photo as well; A close up of Miu’s face.
    * “ **Secret Door Photos** ”; Photo of Amami and Yuuki standing by the closed Secret Door; Amami approaches the camera and Yuuki’s hand is on his shoulder, causing him to look back at her with a curious and confused expression; The bookcase door is wide open, revealing the Secret Door to both Amami and Yuuki; Photo of Amami with his face in his hands as Yuuki lands a punch on the door, dentingit; Photo of Yuuki clutching her chest and clutching the back of Amami’s shirt as he faces the Library’s front doors; A close up of Ouma’s face.



“These pictures do jackshit for the case.” Ryoum sighs.

“Maybe for y’all, but it does make some facts for others.” I sigh. He’s not wrong. With the evidence I have in hand, it’s really unclear who killed Kaede. But, there has to be a hole in all of this. . .

On the TV screen, the countdown finally hits 00:00 and Monokuma appears on screen once more, swirling a glass of what appears to be wine.

“Times up!” He chuckles. “It’s time for the long awaited Class Trial! Gather at the **Altar of Judgement** in the courtyard! Remember the red door surrounded by plants? It’s just on the other side! From there you shall be escorted to the _glorious_ Class Trial!”

With that said, the TV turns off. For a moment, it feels as if the world is frozen and the air is heavy, pushing down on us. The moment we dreaded has finally arrived.

“Time already?!” Gonta gasped.

“It seems we will have no choice but to continue this discussion at the Class Trial.” Toujou sighs.

“I don’t want to go.” Ikiko whimpers into the hair of the unmoving Shirogane.

“Me either . . .” Himiko mutters. “What a pain. . .”

“We must find Akamatsu-sans murder! And if it’s a man, beat him to death!” Tenko furiously exclaims.

“Now, now, isn’t that overkill?” Amami questions with an awkward chuckles. But Tenko has already rushed out if the dining hall. “. . . Well, she’s enthusiastic.” He mumbles, scratching the back of his head. Reluctantly, everyone files out of the room -- even Ikiko with the assistance of Gonta -- all that remains is Shuuichi and myself. He carefully placed the photos in numerical order into an envelope and pockets them before turning to me with a miserable expression on his face.

[ **\- Heartless Journey -** ](https://youtu.be/YhBFIjDybw4)

“Kazehaya-san, do you think it’s true. . .? That someone. . . killed Akamatsu-san? And there’s a mastermind among us?” Shuuichi’s question caught me off guard.

“Huh? But weren’t you the one who theorized this first and told Akamatsu-chan? Shouldn’t you believe in yourself?” If I could punch myself, I would. He wouldn’t be asking this if he believed in himself. He was clearly scared and uncertain, searching for a confirmation and validation. He blushes just a little and the words are caught in his throat.

“Y-Yes, I did but. . . It’s just that . . . a _theory_. I don’t know if I should trust that.”

“. . . If you’re not sure, isn’t that all the more why we should debate together?” I ponder out loud, poking at my bottom lip. “I have no intention to turn my back on a possibly without exploring it. . . I made a promise to Nanako’s father **to reach out to the truth**. So if I turned my back. . . I’d be breaking that promise.”

“. . .Sorry,” Shuuichi mumbles. “The others are probably waiting on us. . .” I nod my head and together, the two of us leave the dining hall. Amami and Kaito were waiting outside the door, both wearing somber expressions. Quietly, we exit the school building and cross the campus to reach a building stone building with a glass rooftop and big red doors, all covered in vines.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

With a heavy sigh, I push the doors open and enter the waiting room. . .but much to our surprise, it didn't look as grave or grim as one would have expected for a foyer to the twisted trial room. It was a very clean room, eighteen plots of land circled the room -- nine on each side -- each with their own unique flowers in the plot. Centered against the farthest wall, was a huge fountain with lotus flowers floating in the water. . . and a rather huge statue of a muscular Monokuma holding a giant goblet above its head that water poured out of and into the fountain.

. . .It looked like Monokuma just took a rather important and detailed Roman-Greek statue and slapped his head on it, along with a shitty paint job.

Regardless, more or less everyone was bickering among themselves, some sighting relief that the last of them finally arrived or wondering where the fuck Monokuma was if he was supposed to lead the way to the courtroom.

“So this is the Altar of Judgement. . .” Kaito muses out loud as he looks around.

“Everybody, be careful!” Gonta exclaims. “If anything happens, hide behind Gonta right away!”

“Then, gimme a piggyback!” Angie gleefully beams. Miu mutters something about her being a noisy bitch to the side. I roll my eyes. Gently, Shuuichi tugs on my veil, causing me to let out a curious hum as I looked his way.

“. . .I’m sorry for what I said back in the dining hall, right before a vital moment too. . . It was. . . silly. . .” I open my mouth to inform him it’s just fine, but the statue abruptly crushes the goblet in its hand, causing everyone to stare with hanging jaws. It points out to the sea of teenagers before it before crossing its arms across its chest and the floor under it opens up for for it to sink below water of the main pool. The water violently sloshes around as bottom of the fountain seals up once more. The scene continues to go insane as the waterfall behind the fountain parts to reveal gray gates to a freight elevator and a land bridge extends to end of the pool so we could all cross.

“Holy _shit_.” Is all I could will myself to say.

“Oh, an elevator?” Amami muses out loud. “I’m not great with transportation. . .”

“Me either. . .” Himiko mumbles.

“I really don't wanna go. . .” Ikiko mutters, clutching the broken remains of Shirogane’s glasses in her trembling hands.

“Why don't you stay here?” Maki sighs. “You’ll go through something worse if you go with us.”

“If she doesn't she’ll die.”

“Huh. . .?” Ikiko blinks, taken by surprise by my statement.

“Rule two states participation in the trial is mandatory.” I explain with a sigh as I play with my hair. “Either way, I have no intention of disrespecting Akamatsu-chan’s memory by running away.” I take Shuuichi by his hand and pull him along with me over the stone pathway and into the elevator.

To my surprise, Ouma was tailing right behind us. His eyes sparkled with amusement and glee.

“You know, onee-chan, you’re so much cooler and interesting than you appear! I like that!” His expression suddenly shifts into something both deadly and serious. “And I intend to make Akamatsu-chan’s murderer pay too!” Soon enough, everyone realized there was no path other than to continue forward and go to trial.

Strengthening our resolve, the elevator filled up one by one as more and more teenagers stepped forward to enter. Even so, with my words of determination, I found myself trembling with anxiety. The Hangman Case in Inaba and the mystery of The Fall, I was able to solve these cases because of the people I worked with. . . . to enter a courtroom without them, it makes me a bit uncomfortable.

But, because I chose to fight, I will move forward.

[ **\- Genesis (Uplifting Verse) -** ](https://youtu.be/DCziNVipvFI)

I tune out most of the talk as the elevator descends downwards. Beside me, Shuuichi squeezes my hand. Does he know of my anxieties or is he just as anxious too? I don't really know. . . but I don't mind holding his hand. . . but it also reminds me. . . reminds me of things I never got the chance to tell him earlier.

“Hey, Shuuichi-kun. . .”

“Ah. . . yes?” He tries to pull his hand away, thinking that I was upset over it or something. . . but I smile in return, looking him directly in his eyes as I tightly hold onto both of his hands.

“I wanted to tell you many things earlier, but things got . . .weird, still, I think you should know that it’s common to fear the unknown and the truth it hides.” With a pause, I take a deep breath and continue. “When I was seventeen, I got into this freak accident where I lost my memories and as a consequence, I adopted an entirely new identity. . . While I wore this mask, I worked hard to help others recognize the truth in their lives, thus fix their self images and relationships. . .

“But I . . . I was a coward. I was deathly afraid of finding out who I truly was. There were pretty much no hints and I was pretty terrified. Was I good person? What as home like? _Where_ was home for that matter? Did it really matter if I was missing or not. . .? I thought to myself ‘Just a little longer, I would like to lie to myself and be with my friends.’. . . but the longer I was with them, the more I realized, if you face the truth together, it will not be as frightening as it was alone. By facing the truth together, we were able to carve a happier path out for ourselves and embrace the future we wanted."

The ferocity in my eyes melt away to gentle kindness as a smile stretches across my face. “That year in Inaba taught me many things. Lies and truth are both heavy burdens to bear. They can easily be used to deceive others into thinking they are the opposite, but by fighting against them you can improve the world and shine a path for others to bravely embark upon.” I take one hand back to place it on my chest in order to make an oath to him as my eyes shined with an absolute resolution.

“So, even if you’re scared, that's okay, because I will support you. Even if you don’t believe in yourself that’s okay, because, I will believe in you. No matter what, please believe in me, because I truly and genuinely believe you can do this! I will support you until the end of the Multiverse itself!”

“Kazehaya-san. . .” He whispers in soft awe. His eyes are wide and his cheeks are dusted with pink. Stupidly, I find myself smiling back at his flustered expression.

“Then, let’s do this. . .!”

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

After what felt like an eternity, the elevator finally came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal the Courtroom to us. The path from the elevator lead directly into a strange circular room that contained both aspects of futuristic and modern. . . 

Monokuma sat on a throne and a podium, just to tower over all of us probably, and his five little children were bouncing around with excitement as they waited for the Class Trial to begin. . . .And for some reason, the room had stained glass windows?

Regardless, in the center of the room were eighteen futuristic podiums, two of which were occupied with photo stands that held up framed photos of Kaede and Shirogane at a certain heights to match how tall they were when alive. Kaede's smiling face was crossed out with a thick red line and a thinner one, possibly to emulate musical score bars? And the red X that made up Shirogane’s were thin little lines, like thread.

“Welcome to the Class Trial!” Monotaro greets.

“Please find your stand! I’ve named them all so you can find where you are to stand for the trial!” Monophanie beams. From his throne, Monokuma comments that she’s such a good girl and how he loves her. . . Like he knows what any of that means.

With that order, everyone scatters around the room to find a podium that has a name tag that bears their name on it. Across the room I see Kaito has ended up besides Shuuichi, which is a bit reassuring that he’ll have someone to rely on, but also unfortunate as Miu is at Shuuichi’s other side. I end up finding my own between Ouma and Himiko.

. . .

. . . It could be worse.

Nonetheless, I step onto my podium, hands curling tightly around the metal frame as I stared down at the little computer screen installed into it. It’s listing all the evidence presented thus far to the case, that being the Monokuma Files on Kaede and Shirogane.

I look away from the screen and out to the sea of teenagers before me. One of them. . . killed Kaede. Perhaps the same person killed Shirogane too. . . whoever it is, I fully intend to flush them out of hiding and make them repent for their actions.

And from there, I will pursue the Mastermind. I’ll find them and destroy all their ambitions.  I’ll do everything I can to end the Killing Game. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the flowers in the plots of land, one are birthday flowers and the other are a flowers that they like or connect to them in some way
> 
> Shuuichi Saihara : Orange (flowers) + Peony  
> Yuuki Kazehaya : Dachura + Honeysuckle  
> Angie Yonaga : Alstroemeria + Tahitian Gardenia  
> Gonta Gokuhara : Snowdrop + Jasmine  
> Ikiko Hekoten : Red Spider Lilies (Nov. 15) + Rhodanse  
> Himiko Yumeno : Lavender + Cattleya  
> Kaede Akamatsu : Hananira + Verbena  
> Kaito Momota : Peach + Statice (Yellow)  
> Kiibo Idabashi : Geckavidin + Kalmier  
> Kirumi Toujou : Iris + Pomegranates (flowers)  
> Kokichi Ouma : Astilbe + Azalea  
> Korekiyo Shinguuji : Muscari + Sycamore  
> Maki Harukawa : Pansy + Katakuri  
> Miu Iruma : Christmas rose + Chrysanthemum  
> Rantaro Amami : Maple (ITS JAPANESE NAME IS KAEDE LMAO) + White hyacinth  
> Ryouma Hoshi : Morning Star Lily + Black Lily  
> Tenko Chabashira : Violet + White Lilies  
> Tsumugi Shirogane : Hibiscus + Japanese Quince (Bokeh)
> 
> Lotus symbolizes birth, rebirth and fertility and female power [ a callout to ‘Yuuki’ ]
> 
> https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?act=url&depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ja&sp=nmt4&tl=en&u=http://hananokotoba.com/the-language-of-flowers/&usg=ALkJrhinUue4CAnEOheLD01OCFPCtctiPw#15
> 
> also the site i got the flowers from
> 
> also SHIT i love persona


	10. {01} Trial {01}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thus the trial begins

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**My** **Class Trial, Our Class Trial**

**Trial**

 

* * *

 

**CLASS TRIAL**

**IS IN SESSION**

 

[ **\- Class Trial Dawn Edition, Volume 3 -** ](https://youtu.be/ogas6954gxk)

Monokuma bangs a gavel on something, and the next thing we know, the podiums begin to float in the air. I guess the blue carpeting was not a carpet at all, but instead some magnetized floor. Or something. . . It’s an interesting sight to say the least.

“Now, lets review the basics of the Class Trial!” He beams with delight. “Your objective is to **find the blackened** through discussion, and the outcome will be decided by your votes! Pick the correct guilty party and only they’ll be punished. . . Pick the wrong culprit. . .” Monokuma’s devilish smile grew wider. “And everyone BUT the blackened will be punished and they’ll be allowed to leave the Academy for Gifted Inmates!” A beat passes.

“And remember to vote, those who do not vote will face **death**! So Let’s raise the curtains to this crazy to the max Class Trial!”

“So. . . how do we even start a trial?” Kaito asks out loud.

“It’s been awhile since my last trial!” Ouma grins cheekily.

“Oh, same.” I comment without much thought. A few odd looks are shot my way but I don't even blink.

“Eh? Why would you go on trial. . .?” Kiibo questions, looking at tad concerned.

“To take my husband’s abusive dad to court as a key witness after he assaulted me.” I answer in a bored tone. In reality, he really didn't hurt me. I just played the role of a scared and injured girl to get him arrested so his abuse on his son and illegal spending of city funds came to light. My banged up face was a small -- and temporary -- sacrifice for the sake of justice.

“HE DID WHAT--?!” Kaito scowls, clenching his fist.

“A deplorable male!” Tenko snarls. “I hope that menace is burning in hell!”

“Not yet.” I sigh. “But, he will be soon enough. Honestly, he can go fuck himself. . . but that’s besides the point. For any case to move forward, we need to establish the basics.”

“If I may,” Shinguuji speaks up.

“Gah! Don't butt in all of a sudden, you manufactured shit machine!” Miu shrieks.

“Don't be rude,” I huff. “If we’re gonna get anywhere, we need to talk and everyone should participate to some degree. We’re all fighting for our lives after all. This isn't the time to be passive.”

“Thank you,” Shinguuji clears his throat. “Now, I’ve been curious for some times, but why did the killer not step forward and use the **First Blood Perk**?”

“I’ve been wondering that too. . .” Amami sighs, crossing his arms.

“They really wanted the Class Trial.” Ryouma muses out loud.

“I got it!” Miu exclaims. “Monokuma wanted the Class Trial more than anyone else! Case closed!”

“Iruma-san, I’m shocked.” Monokuma’s tone was most certainly not shocked. “I am the headmaster. It’s my job to facilitate this campus, not commit murder. That’s the responsibility of the students.” Miu visibly deflates, muttering a soft ‘oh.’.

“Well, our first step is to sort out the facts of. . .about Akamatsu-san’s death. From there, we should be able to distinguish the problems and find a culprit.” Shuuichi’s voice trembled at the mention of Kaede’s name and an uneasy silence that fills the room as everyone is forced to face the reality that Kaede was dead.

[ **\- Class Trial Revival Edition (No Intro) -** ](https://youtu.be/9jISGfnYtNc)

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

**BEGIN!**

“According to the Monokuma File she died at approximately nine-ten PM.” I speak to get the ball rolling.

“And her body was found in **Classroom A-1** , which was found in total disarray.” Amami adds.

“How. . . How did she die again?” Tenko quietly asks. “Tenko is aware that Kazehaya-san and that men-- _boy_ , Saihara-san, double checked the injuries to confirm the authenticity of the Monokuma File.”

“She was **strangled** , right. . .?” Ikiko’s voice comes out as if she was begging. Begging to know that Kaede died the same way so both she and Shirogane was avenged.

 

**COUNTER!**

  * “ **Monokuma File 1** ”



**BREAK!**

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“No, that’s wrong!” I exclaim. Ikiko blinks, taken back by my aggressiveness in my voice.

“. . .Wrong?” She repeats.

“Akamatsu-san died via a shattered spine. Not only that, she had prints on her neck, unlike Shirogane. If the killer had a way of preventing prints from being found and used against them, they have no reason to use a different method of strangling.”

[ **\- Heartless Journey -** ](https://youtu.be/YhBFIjDybw4)

The air is silent for what feels like several long moments. The whole time Ikiko looks to me with big sad eyes that are on the verge of breaking down.

“. . .You’re so cruel.” She quietly whispers. Now I’m the one blinking like a fool. I feel like I’ve been completely blindsided by her. . . It’s not like. . . I don't care that this has happened. I wasn’t close with either victim but they were nice people and I _am_ upset about what happened, but, I’ve told Shuuichi no crying until the end and I intend to keep that promise.

And yet. .  .

“Cruel. . .?” I parrot. Perhaps my approach _is_ cruel? Too forward? Too formal? I just don't want to break down. . . Not when this is only beginning. I take a deep breath as Ikiko repeats herself.

“Shi-chan is dead too! But all everyone wants to focus on is Akamatsu-san! What about Shi-chan?! Where is her justice?!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I begin calmly. Ikiko looks taken back by my calm demeanor. I clench my fists and look right into her miserable eyes. “I did not intend to make my words to come across that way but your feelings are completely valid. Please do not worry, I intend to give Shirogane-chan a proper funeral as well. The problem is simply our circumstances, as the only one who will be punished for their crimes will be the one who killed Akamatsu-chan so we cannot focus on Shirogane-san at the moment. . . but, for her sake, remember each precious moment the two of you shared, and survive. . .”

“Survive. . .” Ikiko whispers. “For Shi-chan. . .”

“If you gotta cry, you gotta cry.” Ouma simply shrugs, looking at his nails. At first, it almost seemed dismissive. . . but his tone carried concern. It was a bit strange but heartwarming to see him say something like that to another student. “Just don't wail over it for the whole case.”

“Yes, crying is rather healthy when stressed or in pain.” . . . Something about Shinguuji’s words were different. They were soft. Kinda like what an older sibling would say to calm a younger individual down.

“No . . .!” Ikiko sniffled as she clutched Shirogane’s glasses tighter in her trembling hands. “Not yet, I’ll cry for Shi-chan once we can see the morning sun again. . . !”

[ **\- New Classmate of the Dead -** ](https://youtu.be/TYg7FdkHQwk)

“Then, let’s continue.” I say as I look to the screen on my podium. After fiddling with it, I finally managed to pull up a screen that allowed me to submit whichever pieces of evidence I found and were logged into my MonoPad. How useful and yet, at the same time, not.

 **N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Shuuichi’s Testimony** ”
  * “ **Camera Receiver** ”
  * “ **Cameras** ”
  * “ **Himiko’s Testimony** ”
  * “ **Open Door** ”
  * “ **Knocked Over Desks** ”
  * “ **Ryouma’s Testimony** ”
  * “ **Maki’s Testimony** ”
  * “ **Toujou’s Testimony** ”



“Gee onee-chan, this sure is a lot of evidence you just submitted.” Ouma hums, flipping through the list on the digital screen.

“Monokuma didn't give us instructions on how it worked so I was kinda bullshitting my way through until I could figure out how to submit it.” I sigh.

“Ah, Yumeno-san,” Shuuichi calls. Himiko lifts her head, a sleepy expression still on her face. “You were the one who found the scene of the crime, correct.”

“Yep,” She drawls. “Ya want me to give you my account again. . . ?”

“Please.” Himiko grumbles under her breath, but, against her will, her podium moves itself from its position and moves to the center of the circle. She let out a loud sigh and begins to recount everything that occured.

“So, I was apart of the meeting downstairs. .  .Ya know, to fight Monokuma. . .”

“Well, I never.” Again, Monokuma gasps as if he’s legitimately offended, which is bullshit.

“And who went downstairs?” Shuuichi continues, ignoring Monokuma’s complains in the background.

“Uhh, Momota, Harukawa, Gonta, Chabashira, Amami and Angie.” Himiko recounts, counting on her fingers as she lists each name. “We were gonna have the meeting but that music really killed our vibe. . . then Amami vanished.”

“Guilty as charged on that account.” Amami laughs as if that's not an uncomfortable choice of words to make in our situation

“Mmm, yep, you went to see **Kazehaya in the Library** .” Himiko takes a moment to hum. “After that, Momota and Chabashira went to go look for you. . . A little while after that, I sensed some **Chaos Magic** upstairs. I was worried about it so I went to investigate. . .

“That was the same time that Momota and Chabashira rushed into the library with Saihara, but I didn't really care so I didn't think much of it at the time. . .” Himiko continues, undeterred by others doubts of magic. “I found the door to Classroom A-1 **open** and I saw Akamatsu’s body on the floor. . .

“I ended up screaming and Saihara and Kazehaya were the first to arrive and then the body announcement played. . .”

[ **\- Class Trial Revival Edition (No Intro) -** ](https://youtu.be/9jISGfnYtNc)

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

**BEGIN!**

“What the fuck?”

“Magic?”

“Is Yumeno-san serious. . .?”

“Of course I am!” Himiko huffs furrowing her brows in annoyance. “Magic _is_ real!”

“Do you think she hit her head or something?” Miu mumbles.

“Uh, maybe her testimony is **worthless**?”

“Perhaps she is **traumatized** by what she witnessed. . . ?” Himiko looks increasingly frustrated by the others lack of understanding. I sweat just a little. I knew the magic aspect of the case would come up sooner or later, but this isnt how I expected it to appear. . .

“Hold it!” I exclaim, sweating just a little. “Just because you don't understand it doesn’t mean it does not exist!”

“You want us to believe **magic is real**?” Maki questions, narrowing her eyes. “Do you want to die?”

**COUNTER!**

**N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Shrine Office Door** ”; The shouji door to Yuuki’s office. It was once a normal paper door until Enchanted with her blood in the formation of her Clan’s mon, denying access to anyone she does not trust.



**_> >>_ **

  * “ **Shrine Office Door** ”; The shouji door to Yuuki’s office. A unique door with magic threaded through the paper and wood, denying access to anyone she does not trust.



**PERJURY!**

[ **\- V3 Discussion -PERJURY!- -** ](https://youtu.be/uXmpD6adGmQ)

_I’LL TURN THIS LIE INTO THE TRUTH!_

“You can bet your GODDAMN ASS MAGIC IS REAL!” It’s a hint of a lie, but, hopefully Amami would back me up. He was the only one who visited my office. As far as he knows it’s not a lie anyway. Regardless, with my claim, Himiko’s podium returns to its spot on my right.

“What’s this . . ?” Shuuichi questions as he reads the data on the evidence I just presented. “An enchanted door. . . ?”

“Correctomundo!”  I exclaim like a fucking idiot. I had to sell this to keep these cards on the table. Himiko can sense magic, just like me, so she wasn’t delusional when she sensed it in the first place. Either way, she was the one who saw the body first so her words have some weight to this case.

“Ah, that explains the air around it.” Amami calmly smiles. Oh GOD. He totally bought it and is supporting me. Thank you _Jesus_.

“I thought I took that door out of the floorplan. . .” Monotaro mutters in the silent room.

“I heard that!” I loudly shout. He sweats a little as he’s given a sharp look from his family and students look to him in disbelief. People mutter under their breath how this is the weirdest and impossible shit they’ve ever heard. Which honestly seems like a stretch given our current situation but whatever.

[ **\- Class Trial Revival Edition (No Intro) -** ](https://youtu.be/9jISGfnYtNc)

“BUUUUT,” Ouma pipes up, poking at his cheek rather cutely. “Even if magic is real, that doesn't explain why onee-chan and Amami-kun were in the library at the time! It’s such a weird and suspicious place!”

“Not really. . .” I sigh as Amami and myself are pulled to the center of the room. I place my hands on my hips as I let out another sigh. What’s his game although? Ouma has a pretty clear idea of what we were up to and even figured out what Kaede was up to. He’s way smarter than he appears to be. . .

“We were simply collaborating together to find the Mastermind.” Amami explains, his face calm and his voice warm as if he’s trying to quell any fear or concerns the others may hold. “If we recall the **photos Shuuichi’s camera** took, we can see that’s quite obvious.”

 **N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Secret Door Photos** ”



“Amami’s intuition and his skill allowed him to locate the secret door and I began to punch it down. . .” I explained. “ya know, until we were interrupted and flipped like pancakes.”

“Tenko did as she had to!” Tenko adminately defends.

“Yeah, but did you _really_ have to flip them?” Kaito questions.

“Wait, did she honestly intend to punch the door down?” Shinguuji questions in disbelief.

“She’s a fuckin’ animal!” Miu exclaims. “She punched a big dent into the door to establish dominance over me!” She suddenly hugs herself, a dreamy expression crosses her flushed face. “It. . . It was kinda hot. . .”

“Either way,” I swiftly interrupt before that could quickly get out of hand. “with the timing of the photos, there’s no way either one of us could have gone upstairs and killed Kaede without being caught on camera doing so or running into either Akamatsu-chan or Shuuichi-kun.” I explain.

**AGREEMENT!**

  * “ **Camera Receiver** ”



**CONSENT!**

“I agree with that!” Shuuichi quickly adds. “The second the secret door was opened, the receiver alerted Akamatsu-san and myself. It would have been virtually impossible for either of them to slip past us!”

“Oh? And how can you be certain of that?” Ouma asks, tilting his head with a curious expression on his face.

**GOT IT!**

  * “ **Camera** ”



“The cameras take photos every thirty seconds, it's not possible to cross the library and leave within that time frame without being caught. Not to mention, in order to reenter the room, they would’ve been captured on camera again.”

“Just like Kazehaya was on captured on photos **02** and **03** when she went to investigate Momota’s screaming. . .” Maki muses.

“Correct.” Shuuichi nods. “I also choose Classroom A-1 as our stakeout position _because_ it provided a perfect vantage point to see who was coming and going downstairs.”

Ah. . . Shuuichi was so much cooler when he got into the zone. It was almost like he was a different person. . . but I couldn't help but be concerned when I noticed Ouma’s expression had not fallen. Instead, it grew into a wide wicked grin.

. . .

Oh.

_OH SHIT_

**N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Locked Door** ”



“I see! So no one could have slipped into the room unnoticed either! Not with a locked door!” Ouma’s grin continues to grow as he notices Shuuichi grow pale. “That can only mean, Akamatsu-chan’s killer was in the room with her the whole time!”

“ **Akamatsu-chan’s killer is you, Saihara-chaaaan**!!”

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

The courtroom immediately lost it’s shit. There’s screams from just about every corner of the room and the noise echoes in against my skull, making my ears ring. It was just utter chaos that made it impossible for me to focus on a single thing.

“I would never. . . ! I can't even imagine harming Akamatsu-san!” Shuuichi’s voice trembles with pain and heartbreak. Utterly distraught that someone would actually suggest he would kill her.

“We don't need to fuckin’ imagine it!” Miu snarls, jabbing a finger into his chest. He flinches, looking rather surprised that someone would physically touch him during a trial. “The fact of the matter is you totally fuckin killed Bakamatsu! I bet you commissioned those fucking cameras just to catch yourself on film to look innocent!

“What a load of bullshit!” Kaito booms, over Shuuichi’s shoulder, causing him to flinch yet again. “Saihara would never do something as shitty as that--!!”

“He is a _menace_! Of course he would!” Tenko argues.

“Don’t accuse him of that!!” Himiko pouts from across the room and Tenko looks so hurt and _offended_ that Himiko would defend a male.

“I. . . I do not want to label Saihara-san as a potential killer. . .” Kiibo begins slowly. “But the evidence is against him.”

“Gonta believes in Saihara-kun, because that’s what a gentleman does!”

Shuuichi clutches his chest with one hand and the other clutches the railing of his podium in an attempt to remain calm and collected. It’s clearly failing as he breaks out into a sweat and tears develop in the corners of his eyes as he’s nearly overwhelmed.

“That’s . . .! That's _not_ . . .!”

“Don’t be assine!” I shout with annoyance clear in my tone. “Given the time of death and where he was at the time it’s impossible for him to commit a murder!”

“Atua says you are incorrect!” Angie beams, clasping her hands together. “Atua wishes for Angie to remind you that the Monokuma File says ‘approximately’! Meaning Kaede could have died **before** nine-ten!” Words died in my throat immediately. . . She was right. Approximately is just another word for a rough estimation. Even so. . . Even so I. . .

“I believe in Shuuichi-kun!”

“Such a foolish, blind and naive action. . .” Ouma sighs, inspecting his nails. “I thought you were interesting Kazehaya-chan but your booooring.” Back to last name basis huh? Well, that kinda sucks but okay.

“You sound too much like me when I was younger.” I sigh. “Disappointed in the world, yourself and others. Unwilling to trust others so you rather lock them out and keep them away. Now that’s some _boring shit_.”

“Excuse you, I _chase_ boring people away. A supreme leader as myself requires the best quality of people!” I have a lot of things to say about that. Like how he very obviously pushes people away and hides his true self under so many lies. . . but now isn’t the time so I don’t say anything about that.

“Look, whatever floats your boat man,” I sigh. “I’ve simply come to learn that I can’t lock people out. So, even if it is painful, I’m going to let people in and give them a chance. It’s not being naive or blind, it’s about helping others. As a preacher, my court is open to all in need. Even those who have done terrible deeds and genuinely wish to repent.” I state this with a warm resolute calmness because this is what I genuinely feel.

It wasn’t an old code that belongs to figures of hope and is passed along successor to successor. Just pure genuine feelings because the world is not black and white. It’s far too complex to be slotted into two boxes and that’s it. “However, that is not applicable here as Shuuichi-kun most certainly did not raise a hand against Akamatsu-chan. And _that_ is the truth.

“Your faith should not blind you to the obvious resolution.” Shinguuji sighs.

“This is nothing to do with religious faith, he wouldn’t kill her and the crime most certainly took place _after_ the receiver went off, when he left the room.” I shoot back without hesitation.

“I. . . I agree with Yuuki-chan,” Ikiko speaks up.

“I believe it’s simply too early to condemn anyone.” Toujou adds.

“Well, it seems we’re split down the middle!” Ouma hums. “What to do. . .”

**HALT!**


	11. {01} Trial {02}

**HALT!**

“Split down the middle!” Monokuma repeats in a booming tone, excitement on his face, “I heard someone say that with my belly button sensor!”

“Are your ears just for decoration?!” Tenko demands in a mix of horror and disgust.

“In that case, leave it to me!” He continues to shout, ignoring her question. “This is where the Gifted Inmates Academy's pride and joy, the ' **Transforming Courtroom** ', comes into play!”

what

“Transforming Courtroom?” Maki echos, doubt clear in her voice.

“OH!!! That sounds cool! I wanna see! I wanna see!” Ouma beams, delightfully bouncing in place.

“But of course!” Monokuma beams, brandishing a silver key out of nowhere. “Make your decisions!” As he says that the platform’s screens present us with two choices. I swiftly tap the touch screen and confirm my choice, causing the screen to take a blue color with a delightful **PING!** sound.

[ **\- V3 Discussion -SCRUM!- -** ](https://youtu.be/CRLZn28a77c)

Once all sixteen of us make our choices, a panel in Monokuma’s throne flips over to reveal a series of gears. The gears whirl as they spin to reveal some sort of panel that he eagerly thrusts the key into and turns. Cyan LED lights travel down nodes in the floor, causing everything to shift and change before our eyes. The floor rises, railings suddenly extend from the back and front of our podiums, keeping us safely locked as the rings around the bottom of the podiums light up.

Rings of light circle our podiums, and one by one, they begin to fly up into the air, in a motion that mirrors the twisting and curling of the double helixes that make up DNA. We reach a height that passes the the stained glass windows and the ceiling above us parts to reveal an entirely new section of the courtroom, the very glass dome that topped the building. That is the moment the helix breaks into two strands.

 **SPLIT** **OF** **OPINION** **!**

It was dark outside but light shines down on us, making it clear who made up what side of the argument. I was apparently leading the **AFTER** group, which was composed of Shuuichi himself, Himiko, Kaito, Gonta, Ikiko, Toujou and Amami. While Ouma lead **BEFORE** , consisting of Maki, Tenko, Angie, Kiibo, Shinguuji, Ryouma and Miu.

Monokuma arrives at the scene on his plush seat, which extended from his throne, to join us as a mediator of sorts. Who really knows. With a grin, he announces the subject of the debate to all of us.

**WHEN DID THE MURDER TAKE PLACE?**

**BEFORE THE RECEIVER WENT OFF** **VS** **AFTER THE RECEIVER WENT OFF**

**SCRUM DEBATE**

**BEGIN!!**

“Saihara-chan was the only one with Akamatsu-chan before her death.” Ouma states, his finger tucked under his chin and a devilish smile on his face.

|   | 

“ **Being with her** does not make a murder!” I quickly counter. “It’s not like they were in some remote isolated place!”  
  
---|---|---  
  
“If he did it before hand it would have been easy to do with no one around and in a location that he could easily see where others were coming from.” Kiibo attempts to reason.

|   | 

“No way.” Himiko huffs, shaking her head. “The **door was wide open** and I found Akamatsu’s body right in the doorway.”If Saihara was going to kill her he wouldn't do it front of an open door _with_ his back turned from the stairs and hallway!”  
  
“All he had to do is push her, right?” Ryouma asks out loud, pointing his candy cigarette my way. “One shove and she falls over on whatever was in her bag. And like that, it’s game over.”

|   | 

“You really think he would **carry a shot put** for an undetermined amount of time and slip it into Akamatsu-san’s bag _without_ her noticing?” Amami chuckles, doubt very clear in his voice.  
  
“He probably told her to carry it around when they went to the warehouse!” Miu grunts, her hands firmly on her hips

|   | 

“You can't accuse someone of murder based on a **possibility**!” Ikiko refutes. “The only logical answer to this mystery is that the murder happened _after_ the receiver was activated! When Shuuichi was out of the room!”  
  
**CROUCH-BIND**

**SET!**

“THIS IS OUR ANSWER!”

**FULL COUNTER!**

[ **\- New Classmate of the Dead -** ](https://youtu.be/TYg7FdkHQwk)

Reluctantly, the **BEFORE** team relented. With our victory, everyone’s podiums returned to their original spots and the courtroom returned to its original appearance.

“Now do you understand?” I demand. “There’s no way Shuuichi could have carried out a murder, much less _before_ the receiver went off!”

“Let him talk for himself.” Maki deeply sighs. And all eyes turn to Shuuichi to find him in a horrible state, breathing heavily and his entire body is trembling, struggling to stand tall as he grips the rail of his podium.

“. . . Shuuichi-kun?”

“He’s been like this since the debate.” Kaito explain. One of his hand rested on Shuuichi’s backside in an attempt to calm him down but it wasn't working. His eyes were wide but confused, as if he. . .

OH FUCK.

“We need an intermission! A recess! Something!” I demand turning to Monokuma. He hums, looking almost thoughtful for a moment before declaring; “No!” I clench my teeth. Shuuichi is having a literal panic attack and he’s refusing to give him a chance to recuperate?

The fucking piece of _shit_!

“Then--! You!” My eyes dart to the cub standing below him on the podium. I point out Monotaro, a fire in my eyes. He jumps a little, looking surprised. “I’m calling in my **first favor**! Get me an intermission, right now!”

“. . . Okay.” Without hesitation, Monotaro climbs onto Momokuma’s throne and his stubby paws hit a red button, causing all of the podiums to touch the ground. I immediately leap from my podium and race to Shuuichi’s side. Kaito’s expression was of utter confusion and desperation as he looked for some sort of help.

“C’mon.” I softly whisper, gently prying Shuuichi’s hand from the rail of his podium and helping his shaking feet to the floor with Kaito’s assistance. Shuuichi attempts to open his mouth, to say something but no words come out. Regardless, I gently assure him things are fine.

“YOU WASTE A GODDAMN FAVOR FOR THIS?!” Monokuma shrieks. His voice even glitches, making some sort of strangled screaming sound. “ALL FOR THAT USELESS PIECE OF SHIT DETECTIVE?!”

“Go fuck yourself!” I shout back, infuriated. “I didn't even want your fucking favors! You forced them on me! If I can use them to help others, I’ll fucking do it! SO SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH!”

**CLASS TRIAL**

**INTERMISSION**

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

Revealing I have favors from Monokuma would only get me on the shit list with the rest of the class -- in fact, I could feel them glaring at me -- but right now I could care less. Together, Kaito and I helped guide Shuuichi to a secluded corner in the courtroom so he could sit down and pull himself together. I sit down beside him, softly rubbing his backside as I gently remind him to breath in and out.

Minutes passed before Shuuichi gave my hand a squeeze and mumbled a soft thank you. I smiled in return, reaching into my bag to retrieve a bottle of water.

“Uh, it’s unopened if that's a concern. . .”

“No,” His voice is still soft as if he’s struggling to come to terms with the fact he just had a public meltdown. “I _really_ do trust you Kazehaya-san. . .”

“I’m glad to hear that. . .” I smile with relief. “After learning I can ask favors from the Monokubz, I was a bit worried how you would respond. . .”

“Don't worry about that Kiriri!” Kaito grins. “You didn't _want_ them! Those cubs woulda forced them onto them to you no matter how ya felt! They’re fuckin’ assholes like that.”

“Still, what’s their intention behind that?” Amami asks. I was a little surprised by his sudden appearance but, at the same time, not so much. We did agree to have each other's backs. “Why would they only offer you favors?”

“. . .Maybe it has something to do with Monokuma searching for you for the last six years. . .?” Shuuichi offers.

“I donno.” I sigh heavily, placing my head against my palm. “Not to be self centered or anything, but I think it’s because Monokuma is trying to specifically target me.”

“Ah, but didn't he say he has no intention in carrying out any murders?” Toujou asks. I nearly squawk. I didn't expect her to approach, but, to my surprise, everyone who was apart of the **AFTER** team had actually come to gather to check on Shuuichi.

“No,” I fumble. “I mean, Y-Yeah, he said he has no intention of interfering, but, I don't think he’s out to kill me. . . just. . . break me.”

“Eh? Break Kazehaya-san?” Gonta questions with both confusion and surprise. I don't. . . think he quite understands.

“Break you emotionally. . .right?” Ikiko softly inquires.

“It’s the only reason I can think. . . constantly scaring me shitless, forcing me to take up the job of taking care of cremations and funerals. . .”

“Leaving those **photos** in your office.” Amami bluntly points out. God. It felt like a horrid void just opened in my gut, it mirrored the feeling of an entire ocean appearing under me and swallowed me whole. For a brief moment I had forgotten about what happened _in_ my office. All of the destruction I caused in a fit of utter **d** **e** **spair** and heartbreak. “. . .Giving you favors only to pull the rug from under your feet. It sounds like something he’d do.”

“Photos. . .?” Shuuichi blinks, sounding a bit concerned by this new information.

“What’s he talking about Kiriri?” Kaito demands. I sigh, placing my face in my hands.

“My office. . . it contained many picture of my past. . . . Of classmates I failed to protect six years ago. I destroyed just about every picture, painting or whatever I could find of my old friends. . .” I peeked through my fingers, staring at the floor with a lifeless expression. “I couldn't handle looking at them. Even as photos. It was like my heart was being torn out again. . . I just. . . I just _had_ to destroy everything. . . In the end, Amami-kun found me crying and he ended up calming me down. . .”

“That’s so cruel . . .” Ikiko mutters mournfully.

“That bastard!” Kaito snarls, slamming his fists together. “If I could, I’d beat the shit outta him!”

“Wait, if the door to your office is enchanted. . . how did he get in to _leave_ the photos in the first place?” Looking Shuuichi right in the eyes, I bit my lip and grinned. He sharply gasps as the realization dawned on him. “You. . . ! You committed perjury!” It comes out as a quiet hiss and all I can do is give him an awkward grin in return.

“Yes and no.” I admit between chuckles. “Is the door enchanted? Yes. But was it given to me in such a state? No. Either way, it helped keep the magic card on the table so, that’s good. . .” I pause when a thought suddenly occurred to me. I look to the palm of my hand. Not a single scar or sign of me cutting myself earlier existed. Like I didn't cut my hand open to use my blood to create a magic charm. . .

. . .

I literally could have just stabbed my hand to make a point. That may have been the easier route, but seeing me do actual magic before their eyes may have made me look worse too everyone else. Ah, but there was no way around it now, I looked suspicious as _fuck_.

“It doesn't really matter either way.” I sigh, standing up. I take a moment to brush the dirt from my skirt. “Monokuma can throw whatever he wants my way. I don't care. I’ll make it through just fine. Now, the intermission is probably just about over by now. . . how are you feeling. . .?”

“Ah, better. Thank you.” Shuuichi awkwardly nods his head my way. Grinning, Kaito yanks him up to his feet and gives him a slap on the back with a loud enthusiastic laugh.

“Alright! Let’s get back in the arena, find that culprit and make him pay!” Shuuichi’s expression shuffles between distress and sadness before determination shines through. He nods his head.

“Right, I’ll do everything I can to put Akumatsu-san’s soul at ease. . .”

“Gonta will help too!” Gonta smiles delightfully.

“As will I,” Toujou smiles gently. “I live to serve after all. . . What maid would I be if I did not believe in my charge?” Smiles on our face and feeling renewed, we returned to our waiting podiums. Once everyone takes their stance once more, Monokuma bangs his gavel thus causing the podiums to float again.

[ **\- Me and My Class Trial -** ](https://youtu.be/Gs1ORsEG2Yw)

**CLASS TRIAL**

**RESUME**

“So are we gonna ignore how you can ask the bears for favors?” Ouma demands right off the bat.

“Don’t worry about it.” I sigh. “Besides the fact I _don’t even want them_ , they were forced on me. So if I can get freebies or whatever, I’d rather use them to help others.”

“How many?” Maki questions, her tone cold and her eyes narrowed.

“Five. One per cub, at least that’s the implication I got.”

“That’s right!” Monotaro beams. “Papa said she gets one favor from each of us! Killing included, if she wanted!”

“K-Killing?!” Miu squawks, cowering in fear.

“Monotaro!” Monophanie yelps in horror.

“You’re not supposed to _reveal_ that!” Monokid snarls. “They’re supposed to _cower_ from that bitch!” The cubs begin to bicker among themselves and I swear I can hear Monotaro mumbling about how he _forgot_ to not reveal that to the other students.

I feel.

I mean, I understand the bad memory problems this kid is dealing with. . . but Christ.

“Oh, so, you set her up.” Amami is smiling but his tone is anything but that. “That’s rather deplorable, don’t you think?” A serene smile covers his face and a cheerful tone takes over once more. “Then I guess it’s really lucky she has a rock solid alibi!"

“On top of that, I have a no killing policy.” I add. “I’ve made a sworn oath to never raise a weapon and take a life with it as long as the other party has sentience. It’s not my style since it goes against what I believe in. . .” The courtroom goes silent but only for a moment as Shuuichi pushes forward to finally say the words he wanted before the intermission.

“Akamatsu-san. . . She is--” He uncomfortably gulps, realizing that’s the wrong tense to use. He fidgets for a moment as he attempts to correct himself. “Was. She was someone that genuinely believed in me, even when I couldn’t believe in myself. Just like Kazehaya-san, Amami-kun and Momota-kun. I trusted her and she trusted in me. . . She believed that I could keep improving and become better than I am now. . .  Even if it was for a short time. . . I valued every moment we spent together. . .” The sad sorrowful expression on his face vanishes to be replaced with determination. “That is why I would never harm her! I would never harm someone that meant so much to me!”

“Nice story,” Ouma hums, leaning over the rail of his podium with a dull and bored expression. “That means a whooooole lot of nothing with words alone!” However, to Ouma’s surprise, Shuuichi isn’t faltering or backing down. He looks him dead in the eyes as he admits: . . .That's true. The shorter of the two tears his eyes away and bites on the nail of his thumb.

. . . I’m pretty sure . . . Ouma just. . . blushed?

Regardless, there had to be something. Something to give us a hint on how to push this case forward. . . Something hidden in the evidence I’ve collected . . .

[**\- Anagram.NEW -** ](https://youtu.be/kKMDqJ6PbSc)

**HANGMAN’S GAMBIT COMENCE!**

**What Proof Do I Have On Hand?**

The vent isn't proof . . . nor is the music. . . Knocked over desks?

No.  That won't work. . . The injuries it caused could easily be blamed on Shuuichi. . .

Wait. . .

Injuries.

Kaede’s body.

We found something on her body.

. . . That’s it!

 

_C H A R M_

**SOLUTION**

_“GOT IT!”_

**BREAK!**

**N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Charm** ”



“Sorry Ouma-kun, but there was most certainly _another_ person in the room!” I announce as the submitted evidence appears in the system.

“A charm?” Ikiko utters with confusion, clearly unable to make the connections I was.

“That’s right!” I exclaim. “When we were investigating Akamatsu-san’s body, we found this charm clutched in her hand! She clearly fought back and Shuuichi-kun isn’t missing any buttons or charms!”

“He may have placed it on her.” Shinguuji offers.

“When would that be possible?” Amami questions, tapping the side of his head with an amused grin. “We’ve come to an agreement that the murder took place _after_ the buzzer went off and both I and Kazehaya-san were with him the entire time.”

“Additionally, it couldn't have been simply planted on her person!” Shuuichi points out. “Akamatsu-san was clutching onto the charm so hard that it left an imprint on the palm of her hand!”

“Huh. . . I guess that leaves the people downstairs as our suspects then.” Ouma says out loud.

“I think the bigger concern are the people with jewelry or accessories. . .” I mumble.

“Right, so, everyone downstairs!” Ouma beams. “They _were_ the closest to Classroom A-1! They could have killed Akamatsu-chan!!”

. . .

Shit.

He’s right.

Just about everyone who WAS downstairs did have jewelry and/or accessories. . .But. . . _could_ anyone downstairs really commit the crime?

But. . .

. . . Wait. . . The charm. . . I’ve. . .

I’ve seen it before!

With everything going on, I completely failed to realize that. . . But then, that means the murder. . . !

“That sleepy brat is the most suspicious!” Miu hisses. I blink, suddenly shaken from my thoughts as the courtroom began to spiral into chaos around me. Oh god. There were too many conflicting voices and people shouting and screaming over each other. It was making my head split as it was just too much for my hypersensitive six senses. I clutched my head, trying to get a grasp on what was going on.

“I AM NOT THE CULPRIT!” Angie, Tenko and Himiko all shout at once.

[ **\- V3 Discussion -PANIC!- -** ](https://youtu.be/Ge1vM-P2gow)

“There’s absolutely nothing suspicious about me!” Himiko exclaims furiously, her face red and fists raised.

| 

“Angie has an alibi~!” The Polynesian girl beams, holding her folded hands above her head.

| 

“Tenko will prove her innocence! Right here! Right now!!” Tenko exclaims, taking a rather dramatic pose.  
  
---|---|---  
  
“If anything, saying ‘let’s go to the basement’ is suspicious!”

| 

“After all, Atua was watching Angie the whole time!”

| 

“Tenko would _never_ raise a hand against a woman!”  
  
“Wait, what!?” Kaito gasps, sweating just a little.

| 

“Eh? Who is Atua?” Gonta wonders out loud, poking at his bottom lip with a curious expression on his face.

| 

“N-Never?” Kiibo repeats, a bit baffled by that statement.  
  
“It was a strategy meeting!”

| 

“It’s not a person, it is Atua.”

| 

“The power of Neo Aikido is not to be used against women! It is to protect them!”  
  
“ **Amami was the only one** who left!”

| 

“If it’s not a person. . . is it Kiibo-kun?”

| 

“So?” Maki sighs. “That proves absolutely nothing.”  
  
“None of us had the chance to kill anyone!”

| 

“It is not Kiibo, it is Atua.”

| 

“I-It proves everything!"  
  
 

**COUNTER!**

**N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Maki’s Testimony** ”



“I CAN HEAR YOUR WORDS!”

**CONFUTATION!**

“Sorry Momota-kun but that’s incorrect!” Amami voices through the chaos, forcing the courtroom into silence. Everyone looks his way, waiting for his explanation. He smiles gently. “Sorry, but I wasn't the only one to leave. Gonta locked himself in the AV Room as soon as we arrived in the Game Room.”

“H-huh? B-But Gonta didn't kill one. . . !” Gonta screamed as all eyes turned to him.

“Oh, I know that.” Amami smiles, tucking a hand under his chin. “I’m just making sure to clear everyone from the basement off the table. Not a single one of them could have committed the crime.”

“W. . .What?!”

“Not a single one. . .?”

“That’s a bold statement to make. . .”

“Ah, it's quite simple.” He chuckles “While the AV Room had a side door that would lead into the hallway, it had a poor fitting so it would only open an inch or two. There was no way Gonta could have gotten out of the door to commit a murder. Besides, given the aesthetic of each girl that _was_ downstairs, they wouldn't wear a diamond accessories.”

“ _Aesthetics_?” Miu demands. “Are you shitting me?” Amami completely ignores what she has to say and turns my way.

“Ah, it seems you have the answer Kazehaya-san, don’t you?” Amami says in a gentle voice. I figured it out. Where I saw that charm before. . . There’s no other way it would be at the crime scene unless the owner of it appeared. . .  Besides, we’re thinking too small if we just limit suspects to the basement only. . . . because . . . **the killer was on the first floor when the receiver buzzed**.

“I do.” I murmur, slowly nodding my head. I look out to the sea of teenagers before me, struggling to comprehend why they committed this crime. . . It leaves a bitter feeling in my heart. . .  but you’ve been quiet for so long. . . You must know your own guilt and it’s consuming you, isn't it? The absolute lack of control over your body as that **Forbidden Magic** consumed you and forced you to carry out this crime.

I’m so sorry. This is cruel, isn't it? But. . . I must bring this truth to the light and drag you across the court in the process.

**IDENTIFY THE CULPRIT!**


	12. {01} Trial {03}

[ **\- Who’s There? -** ](https://youtu.be/_pS5soRsrKQ)

**IDENTIFY THE CULPRIT!**

Kirumi Toujou

**VERDICT!**

“Kirumi Toujou, you are the murder of Kaede Akamatsu!”

“Mom did it?!” Ouma shrieks.

“W-What the hell?!”

“Toujou-san. . .” Shuuichi whispers with disbelief

“Kazehaya-san,” She begins slowly, her voice calm and composed. “Why would you pin this on me? I’ve made it clear, my only duty is to serve my charge.”

“But you. . .” Ikiko begins with a trembling voice, pointing a shaking finger to the maid. “Y-You left the dining hall! Right around nine o’clock!”

“Holy shit.. . . That’s right!” Miu exclaims. “I thought this bitch was looking for some clean towels and shit, but. . . she fucking killed Bakamatsu!”

 **N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Miu’s Testimony** ” She, Tsumugi, Ikiko and Shinguuji were in the dining room, eating dinner during the time of Kaede’s murder. Toujou was in the kitchen for the entire time, but then left the dining hall at about nine o’clock.



[ **\- Class Trial Revival Edition (No Intro) -** ](https://youtu.be/9jISGfnYtNc)

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

**BEGIN!**

“I did no such thing.” Toujou firmly states, her voice has a tinge of annoyance and her brows furrow as her podium is forced to take center stage. “I never once left the dining hall. . . not after the mess those cubs left behind.” She is instantly met with the firm rebuff that she undoubtedly _did_ leave the dining hall -- to her horror, these claims come from everyone that was in the dining hall with her.

And as she continues to fight back, I can see it. A black mass forming around her, choking her objections and complains down and forcing her to take the words others throw at her. I uncomfortably clutch my arm as the case begins to come together in my mind.

But I still can’t understand one aspect. . .Why would the source of **Chaos Magic** target Toujou? If it was trying to completely fuck us over and cause us to fall into disrepair and utter **d** **e** **spair** , wouldn’t it go after Shuuichi instead? God. I feel so gross to even entertain the thought. . .

But it’s methods and ideas make no sense. . . To target Toujou and commit a crime but then drag this case out to suddenly reveal that she left the dining hall? It’s like they intentionally wanted to drag this out and fucked with everyone’s memories to do so.

What a fucking jackass. . .

“You’re wearing gloves.” I quietly point out. “And there are no rubber gloves in this place. You told me so.”

“ _Others_ ” She begins sharply. “wear gloves as well.”

“That’s correct.” I agree without hesitation. For a moment she looks a bit relieved but equally distraught, however, it’s not like my affirmation breaks my argument. “But you're the only one with full gloves, coupled that with the fact that Akamatsu-chan’s neck had blank prints. It’s the logical conclusion!”

“Kiibo lacks prints all together!” She argues.

“I wouldn’t ever lay a hand on another! I-I don't have the strength to even leave prints!” Kiibo yelps, raiding his hands up in defense.

“Correct,” Shuuichi chimes in. “Kiibo-kun also lacks any sort of accessories or jewelry. Something of high quality as pure silver and diamonds would fit Toujou-san’s aesthetic, just like Amami-kun suggested.”

“Show me your neck!” I demand, pounding my fists against my podium. “If the necklace broke in a fight with Akamatsu-chan, there would be a mark! If you did not, there would be nothing and you’re off the hook!” Toujou’s eyes narrow, sending me a heated look that seethed with anger, disgust and possible betrayal.

“I did not commit the crime! How could I? **How could I have broken Akamatsu-san’s spine**?!”

. . . This was it.

If I present this evidence, I may break the reality they knew as cruelty as possible. The Kaede they knew may no longer exist. . . They may demonize her and fail to understand what she wanted. . .

But I have to push forward. . . I must **reach out to the truth**!

 **N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Kaede’s Backpack** ”



**GOT IT!**

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“The murder weapon was inside her backpack.” I begin in a soft tone. I clench my fists and with a deep breath, I push forward. “As Hoshi-kun said, all that needed to be done was push Akamatsu-chan and she would fall onto the weapon and die.”

“The shot put.” Ryouma acknowledges with a nod of his head. Voices repeat the word ‘shot put’ and murmured among themselves in confusion.

“Amami mentioned that too. . .” Miu mumbles, playing with her hair. “Was she. . . Was she seriously carrying that in her bag. . .?”

“. . . Why did she keep a put shot in her bag?” Maki questions lowly. And that’s the question he was dreading. Shuuichi uncomfortably shifts in his spot as I look his way. I open my mouth to explain but he . . .

“Akamatsu-san. . . was going to commit a murder.”

He beats me to it. To say this truth, he was clearly in pain. He clutches his chest and squeezes his eyes shut. And once more, the courtroom loses its shit with this revelation.

“What the _hell_ are you talking about?!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“. . . B-But why?! Why would she--?!”

“S-She’s not a deplorable male! She would never raise a hand against another!”

“She wanted us to unite! To stand up to Monokuma!”

“SHUT UP!” I boom, once more, my eyes flash to send a cold chill down everyone’s spines to silence them all. I point a finger to Toujou, a fire burning in my eyes. I can’t hold back. I can’t relent. I have no choice but to go full out on this case now.

“You’re wrong!” Toujou screams between the tears developing in her eyes. “Your deduction is entirely wrong!”

“No. I’ve seen the very proof with my own eyes! I will not be swayed!”

“Then it’s time you _get your eyes checked_!” She shrieks, her voice reaching a fever pitch.

“Sorry, but I have one last vital clue! Read it and weep!” I firmly state, continuing to push forward.

“What possible evidence could you have?!” She screams, her gloves hands tugged at the collar of her clothes in desperation. It’s painful to watch. She knows what she’s done but she simply does not want to admit it.

 **N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Toujou’s Jewelry Box** ”; A jewelry box filled with beautiful charms, gems and other accessories.



**GOT IT!**

“The jewelry box in your own room!” I boom, pointing directly at her face. “The night I first arrived, I was to stay in your room until a dorm was prepared for me. However, I couldn’t sleep and I decided to go for a walk. When I went to borrow a robe, I noticed a jewelry box, my curiosity overtook me and I found a number of charms! One for each day of the week!”

“THAT MEANS NOTHING!” And that’s the moment the field tides for me. The black mazma around her thickened, becoming visible to mortal eyes. Everyone can see the black magic, circling her body, consuming and eating away at her very existence as she suffers.

“I’ll make this as painless as I can!”

[ **\- NEW T.A -** ](https://youtu.be/IblSPzSa7CQ)

**THEORY ARGUMENT**

**BEGIN!**

 

                                                                                     “You are wrong!”

“How so?”

“Your claims are nothing

but an empty deduction!”

 

“You disprove your very self!                                          


This madness about magic being                                    


involved in this case!”                                           

“Disprove it exists then.”

                                                                  “It is obvious it does

                                                                 not exist! Magic is only

                                                              fantasy nonsense that exist

                                                                      in fairy tales!”

       “Listen to yourself!                                                                               


     In this Class Trial. . .!                                                                             

           Everyone’s lives are at stake!!                                                                      

Even the people you love!” 

“. . .I understand your reasoning. . .

  but I will never accept it!

                                                                        I will not allow you to pin me

                                                                                   as the culprit!”

“If I’m wrong, disprove me with evidence!”

    “What about you?!        

    You and you. . . _posse_        

are only providing us with    

ridiculous speculation after speculation!”

   “All I’ve ever wanted was

      to protect everyone!

                 So, why?!

    Why are you interfering?!”

 

“ **WHAT DOES THAT BOX PROVE?!** ”

**FINAL BLOW!**

**A** **MOT** **HER’S** **GIFT** **!**

“IT ENDS HERE!”

**BREAK!**

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“It was you who told me you wear **a one of a kind necklace, a gift from your mother**! Something so important and sentimental could not be stolen from you and planted in a crime scene without you noticing and raising hell about it!” And with that, a horrified, hellish scream escapes Toujou. She’s scratching and scratching at her neck, tearing at the skin until there’s blood oozing on the collar of her shirt. . . but she doesn't care.

It’s like every trace of the dignified woman she is. . .was completely gone. . . She’s crying and crying, whispering ‘this isn't what I wanted’ again and again. . . and in the process of her complete and utter breakdown, I can see her neck. A long red mark that circles the sides and back of her neck, the mark left behind by her necklace as it was torn from her neck -- irrefutable evidence that the charm came from her.

The courtroom is silent. . . This silence is different than before. Heavy with pain, a horrible realization and a reluctance to accept it. So many people have lifeless expressions as they’re forced to accept that the kind, if not a bit forceful in a loving way, leader is just. . . _gone_. Killed before she could carry out a murder to save them all from the very thing they’re dealing with right now. . . And the young woman that dedicated and devoted her time to care for them all is a murder. A murder that's completely lost herself in tears, heartache and confusion.

“Akamatsu-san’s intention was to kill he Mastermind.” Amami explains, breaking the silence once more. “All the signs point to that direction. She wanted to save us from Monokuma and the Mastermind. . . So when Saihara-kun revealed his plan to expose the Mastermind to her, she took advantage of it. To create her own plan.”

“. . . While in the werehouse, she took a put shot in her backpack, wrapping it up in her sweater. While cleaning up and organizing the library, she opened the vent in the and arranged the books on the top shelf below the vent to create a ramp.” Shuuichi exhales a trembling breath. “She then turned on the flash on one of the cameras with the intentions of luring the Mastermind in. The final phase of the plan was for the shot put to be dropped from the classroom, fall down the ramp. . . And kill the Mastermind, thus ending the Killing Game before it could begin.”

“But, a third party interfered.” I firmly state, looking around the room, looking each and every person in the eye as we reached the final grueling leg of this trial.  “Behold! This is the truth of the case!”

**CLIMAX LOGIC**

**BEGIN!**

[ **\- Climax Re-Enactment V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/kXAcUKyRdjk)

_“At about nine o’clock, the culprit left the_ ** _dining hall_** _under the guise of collecting clean linen and no one was none the wiser. Shortly after that, the_ ** _receiver_** _Shuuichi-kun was handling went off, he immediately rushed out of the room to head to the_ ** _library_** _and Akamatsu-chan lingered behind._

 _Before she could remove the_ **_shot put_** _ball from her backpack the culprit entered the room, a dazed look in her eyes and she began to strangle Akamatsu-chan. The victim attempts to fight back, but in their struggle, the culprit ends up_ ** _smashing her head against a desk_** _, thus causing the head injuries we found on the body. This seems to cause the culprit to regain some control of their self and they releases Akamatsu-chan._

 _Akamatsu-chan reaches out for the culprit, accidentally_ **_snapping the chain of their necklace_ ** _in the process. However, the force of the culprit dropping Akamatsu-chan ended up being_ **_fatal_ ** _as she carried a shot put in her bag. The impact caused her_ **_spine to shatter_ ** _on the shot put, killing her._

 _Terrified and distraught, the culprit recollects the chain of their necklace, but in their frantic state, they failed to realize that the victim was clutching onto the_ **_charm_ ** _of the necklace, effectively singling then out._

 _The culprit then fled the scene,_ **_leaving the door wide open_** _, allowing for Yumeno-chan to get the first look at the dead body when she stumbled upon the scene. Yumeno-chan’s terrified screams would lead us to her and the scene of the crime!_

“And that is the truth behind this case, isn't that right,

 **Kirumi Toujou** , **Super High School Maid**?!”

 

**COMPLETE!**

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“. . .Yes. . .” Toujou’s voice is so empty. It seems. . . even she has accepted the crime she has carried out without will. “No matter how much I screamed and begged to stop. . .my body kept moving. . . It kept doing these terrible things I did not want to do. . .! To think. . . there’s such a terrifying force out here that could sap me of my will!” Bringing her hand to her mouth, Toujou sobs and her shoulders shutter as her podium returns to where it belongs.

“You had. . . no control. . .?” Shuuichi repeats, horrified by the very thought.

“I didn’t want to! I never wanted to hurt Akamatsu-san. . .! But it was like I was screaming into a void. . . ! My own voice was being suffocated by the darkness around me. . . just like Kazehaya-san said. . . It wasn’t until I ended up . . . smashing her head against the desk did I realize what I was doing. . .! I was so horrified. . . I let go of her. . . but. . . but she. . .”

“She fell on the shot put and died.” Maki states in a cold tone. By the look on Maki’s face, she still has some doubts about all this magic involved in the case. . . but. . . she has no choice but to accept it.

“Jeez!” Monokuma huffs. “Keep all that sobbing nonsense until **after** voting!” Toujou lets out another shuddering sob, realizing what is waiting for her now.

“Yeah! You’ve all reached a conclusion!” Monotaro beams. “It’s voting time!”

“Please use your touch screens to make your vote.” Monophanie adds with a smile.

“And remember to vote or they’ll be one less of ya!” Monosuke chortles.

**CLASS TRIAL**

**VOTING TIME**

“IT’S VOTING TIME!” The bears shout in unison, laughing with utter delight. I exhale out my nose and look down to the voting screen before me. All the evidence compiled on the screen vanished to be replaced with an eighteen square grid of all the students -- both Kaede and Shirogane's faces grayed and crossed out in the same style as their photos on their respective stands.

Uncomfortably, my finger hovers over Toujou’s face for a moment and I make the mistake of looking up and glancing her way. She’s still sobbing and it’s a stark contrast to the slots and casino like sound effects the voting board is making.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I bring my finger down, touching Toujou’s face on the screen. A stylized photo of her takes up the right half of the touch screen and a red banner bearing her name covers the lower half of the screen, asking if I wish to confirm my vote. The eighteen panels flip over to reveal their dark red backsides and the words ‘ **PLEASE WAIT** ’ in lighter red text.

And after several long moments, the panels flip over once more to reveal the image of Monokuma’s smiling face that holds up a card that states ‘ **ANNOUNCEMENT** ’.

“Now that voting is finished, let’s see the results!” on cue, a giant screen tv lowers from above, hanging over Monokuma’s throne. The screen lights up in an instant, flashing the worlds ‘RESULTS’ for a moment before showing us a 9x2 table that contained all the students. . . Under Toujou’s name were sixteen red notches. . . a unanimous vote for her. Her stylized image appears on the right side of the screen with a metal that says ‘SELECTED’ and confetti rains down on the screen. . .

**RESULTS**

Kirumi Toujou

I felt both insulted and infuriated at how they were treating this. . .but. . .she even voted for herself. . .It kinda feels like a slap to the face.

[ **\- Voting Slots -** ](https://youtu.be/b4i5A4AfanQ)

The screen turns off and Monokuma grins once more, wondering out loud who is the blackened and questioning if we made the right choice or not. The floor at the center of the podiums suddenly opens up and a three sided roulette rises. The roulette’s screen looked more like a bullseye, with little pixels in our likeness on the outer portion and a single double ring glowed gold -- while What was supposed to be the triple, outer and inner was transformed into a digital screen of Monokuma’s grinning mug.

The golden double ring spins around and around before slowly coming to a complete stop and turning a bright red hue on Toujou’s image. Monokuma’s digital face is replaced with Toujou’s pixelated likeness and her podium no longer glows the serene cyan color we shared, but a bright bloody red.

**VERDICT**

T O U J O U

The voting machine rings loudly, launching confetti into the air that proceeds to rain down on all of us and coins start to pour out of the machine, firing various amounts at the students -- if I had to assume, the total was based on their participation in the trials -- and to rub the salt in our wounds, the cubs actually went around the courtroom to hand out fucking glossy papers, rating us on our abilities and grade on the goddamn trial.

Fucking Christ. This piece of shit bear was practically rewarding us for this. . .

**CLASS TRIAL**

**ALL RISE!**

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“Congratulations!” Monokuma cackles. “You all voted correctly! The guilty party in Kaede Akamatsu’s death is Kirumi Toujou, the **Super High School Level Maid**!”

“Shut up!” Kaito booms, clearly pissed off how everything turned out. He clenched his jaw and shakes his fist. “Just. . . _shut up_.”

“Kazehaya-san,” Toujou gently called. Her voice quivers and her eyes are red and bloodshot. . . but she’s smiling now. “You have surpassed my expectations of you.” I blink owlishly, taken back by her words. I never really thought she had any sort of expectations for me. “To be honest, I did not think highly of you when we first met. You were frightened and you looked so small. . . but without prompting or the promises of rewards, you passionately opened your heart to others and did what you could to help keep things in reign or helped those in need. It wasn’t until the voices spoke to me I understood why. . .”

“The voices. . .?” I felt tense. Did this magic know of my real identity? If it did, would Toujou reveal this to everyone? What did this source of magic even know about me. . .? I was both curious and concerned by this revelation.

“Yes, the voices of the magic that controlled me. The spoke so highly of you. You who lost so much and built yourself up from scratch . . . you who has such a greater calling . . . It is selfish of me to ask this, especially after everything I’ve done and even if your kind heart will forgive me for my deeds.” She folds her hands and bows her head. “Please, stay. Stay here and help everyone, care for them as you care for your clan and protect them from what lurks in the halls.”

“. . .I had every intention of doing so. . .” I muttered. Even if I completed my **objective** , I don’t have it in me to simply abandon them. It wouldn't be right. . . It would be too selfish to run away. Toujou continues to smile despite her situation and turns to Shuuichi.

“I’m certain. . . Akamatsu-san is proud of you Saihara-kun.” His cheeks flush and he pushes his bangs back in place of lacking his cap to shield his eyes. “Even now, you’re growing and changing. . . you are becoming the man she believed you could be.”

“Do you. . . Do you really think so?” He softly asks. Gently, Toujou smiles. She takes one of Shuuichi’s hands and one of my own, gently placing his on top of my own and cups our hands together.

“Yes, I truly do. You’re both growing and becoming wonderful people. Should such sordid crimes take place once more, I believe you two will solve the case. . .” She quietly chuckles, glancing over to Amami. “Of course, I do expect Amami-kun is to help as well.” Toujou with lowers her hands but I’m having a hard time removing my hand from Shuuichi’s.

“You know, it’s hard for me to accept any praise. . .” I sigh. “. . .You committed the crime, but not willingly. If I was a hell lot better at my job I could have done something more. I could have found the source of that horrible magic and I could have prevented all of this. . .!”

“You did your best. . .” Shuuichi offers softly, giving my hand a squeeze. My cheeks flush and I go silent as I glance to the side. I. . . I honest expected some sort of backlash from him. Kaede clearly meant alot to him and it’s my failure that caused her demise.

“You did a damn good job!” Kaito shouted, slapping my back. I wince a little, taken by surprise by his sudden slap. Shuuichi on the other hand, stumbles a bit.

“So the reason why you did not take advantage of the **First Blood Perk** was because you did not intend to kill and carried heavy guilt for your deed?” Shinguuji inquires

“Yes,” Toujou softly admits. “. . . My duty is to my charges so I could not confess to my horrible deed when Monokuma asked. I feared, in admitting it, I would put you all in danger but as the case continued. . . I became terrified. I selfishly turned my eyes from the truth!”

“So? You still did it.” Ouma huffs, gazing at the palm of his hand but his expression lacks the usual mirth and amusement. Just sadness and confusion. A few cry out in protest because of his words but, as usual, he doesn’t seem to care but it’s for different reasons. He’s simply too distressed. “And the moment you did, you fell right into Monokuma’s grubby paws!”

“I know.” Toujou simply states.

“Eh? But Toujou-san said she could not control herself!” Gonta exclaims in an attempt to defend her from Ouma’s scretiny. Ouma clenches his jaw and bites his thumb nail, his face flushed red with irritation and tears developing in his eyes.

“I know and that’s why I’m pissed off!” He exclaims, his voice breaking just a bit. “I mean, I sure didn’t believe in magic until onee-chan came along! If it was anyone else they’d be just as helpless and powerless! A random victim to be sent to the slaughter in the name of this garbage game!”

“Shut up you damn liar.” Miu hisses. “Your tiny shota dick is probably hard as hell over this shit!” Ouma's face falls in an instant, looking like nothing more like blank slate. I mutter what the fuck under my breath, side eyeing Miu. She yelps and shyly plays with her fingers to avoid eye contact with me.

“I just . . . I don’t understand why Akumatsu-san felt it was necessary to create such a complex trick. . .” Shuuichi sighs.

“It’s _obvious_ why.” Kaito huffs. He places a hand on Shuuichi’s head, ruffling his hair. “She wanted to escape with everyone but she didn’t want us to know of her **sin**. Especially not you.”

“Yes. . . I too believe that’s the answer. I believe she only took such an extreme action because of the time limit. . .” Toujou sighs. “If only it didn’t exist. . .” Painfully, we watch Toujou make a few more farewells before Monokuma decided to announce its time.

“Oh _hell no_!” Kaito hissed, rolling up His sleeve with the intention to brawl right here, right now. “Toujou was possessed! Why should she be punished for what she couldn’t control?!” Amusingly, in a stupid way, Kaito uncomfortably shivers the moment he uttered the word possessed. I would have laughed if not for the situation at hand.

As if they were anticipating this, giant mechs suddenly dropped from above, hitting the ground with a loud. Holy shit. Were these the Exisals I heard so much about. . .?

“If you interfere,” Monophanie begins in her usual sickeningly sweet tone. “You’ll be executed too! It would be so tragic for all of you to die instead of one. . .”

“That’s right! **Punishment time** is a holy time!” Monotaro exclaims. “You can’t interrupt it!”

“Like hell were gonna take that!” Kaito snarls

“Neo Aikido has not been used on weapons, but this is a good time as any to test it!” Tenko exclaims rushing up to Kaito’s side, his fists raised.

“Gonta will fight too! If Gonta did not, he would not be a gentleman!”

“Don’t be insane!” I shout, tugging both Kaito and Tenko back by an arm.

“So we just _let_ her die!?” Kaito shouts back, almost offended by my suggestion.

“Kaito, I love and adore you but don’t be a fucking idiot.” I say in a firm tone, tightening my grasp on his arm. “Haven’t you realized? She’s _accepted_ this.”

“A-Accepted?!”

“How can you say that?!” Tenko demands.

“That’s enough.” Toujou firmly states, effectively cutting off any further argument. “Kazehaya-san is correct, I have accepted my fate. Even if I was forced to act, it is still my hands that are soiled by blood.” And then. . . she smiles so gently and serenely. “Dying is not so bad, not as long as one person recognizes I was fighting the whole time. Fighting to be me.”

And with that said, Toujou turns her back to us and approaches Monokuma’s throne.

“Let us begin.” With her words, the Existals quickly park themselves by Monokuma’s throne and the five cubs eject from their mechas with obnoxious cheering and dramatic poses.

“AAAAAALLRIGHT!” Monokuma grins. “ITS PUNISHMENT TIME!!!” A panel opens on Monokuma’s throne, revealing a small silver box with a big red button. With a wide malicious grin, he slams his gavel on the button.

**GAME OVER**

Toujou-san has been decided as guilty.

Commencing punishment.

Two screens drop from above to join the one from before, and in unison the screens turn on to show a blue pixelated version of Toujou standing beside Monokuma. Toujou and Monokuma bobbed in place for a couple moments before Monokuma walked off with Toujou on his heels, all while our pixelated selves watched from a distance away.

[ **\- The Tread of Anguish -** ](https://youtu.be/0blTfNLs8kQ)

In reality, Toujou stands as tall as she usually did but her body trembles and her expression twitches as she waits for her dreaded punishment to come. Around her, everyone waits with uncomfortable anticipation. No one wants this to happen . . . but it’s so terrifying that it’s not immediate.

And then, after what feels like an eternity, a silver collar decorated with Monokuma’s face and attached to resilient but thin cable descends from above. It firmly clamps around her neck, sealing her fate, she clenches her fists before turning back around to us.

One last time, she folds her hands and bows her head to us with a smile on her face. . .

“Farewell.”

The cable suddenly jerks, forcing her to lift her head, revealing that her smile is clearly pained and tears are beading in the corners of her eyes. With another tug of the cable, she is yanked up into the air. She doesn't scream or cries out, she simply takes it as she’s pulled up, up and away. . .

Up into the glass dome section of the courtroom and the ceiling closes, cutting off the mocking beams of the morning sunlight and any chance of seeing her ever again.

The image on the TV screens change to show us exactly was happening in the glass dome. Shutters must be in use as there was not a single trace of natural light to be found. It was dark. . . And then, a single light flicker on to reveal Toujou’s body laying on the ground of an incline of land.

More lights flicker on to reveal the Monokubz and Monokuma standing on top pillars of various sizes -- Monophanie and Monokid in the shortest podiums, followed by Monodam and Monosuke on the middle while Monotaro and Monokuma shared the tallest one behind Toujou -- around Toujou’s position. In Monotaro’s paws was the cable connected to the collar around Toujou’s neck and the other cubs had what appeared to be balls of cable in their paws.

**PUNISHMENT IN PROGRESS**

**Cha** **o** **s’s Web**

Super High School Level Maid

Kirumi Toujou Execution Exhibition

And it began.

The bears, with an exception of Monokuma and Monotaro, jump for Toujou. They bind the thin cable around her wrists and ankles before touching down on a different podium than before, tangling Toujou’s body in the process. Their father raises his paws and in unison, the cubs tug on cables, pulling the cable taught on her body, squeezing and constricting each and every breath from her body.

Toujou struggles to maintain her best calm dementor, trying her best to not leave a horrified, distressed expression for everyone to remember but her body is going numb. She’s not sure how much longer she can remain awake before she passes out. Maybe it will be better that way. . .

Dying as she’s unconscious sounds so much better right now. . .

The bears continue to move about, binding and consequently crushing her body as the cables tighten, cutting off her air supply and blood to her limbs. Ultimately, Toujou is tangled in a web of cable, strung up and arranged in a T pose but her punishment is not over.

And that’s the moment hell truly begins.

The arena is plunged the into an uneasy silence . . . And then, the room is bathed in a low red lighting and I can see it. _His_ sign. A mocking cross covered in barb wire and a single eye that gazes upon all. That is undoubtedly the sign of my own mortal enemy scrawled on the wall with a golden illuminance paint that drips like blood leaving the body.

And then, I realize Monotaro is tangled in the cable as well. Is this . . . punishment for inadvertently aiding me in the trial? If it is, it explains why Monokuma does not care at all. The monochrome bear was currently holding the ends of all cables within his paws, that's when I realize how this execution is going to go down.

One of my hands clutched onto Kaito’s forearm as he stared in horror. . . and I realized, standing beside me was Ouma. He was utterly terrified, he looked paler than usual and as if he was ready to vomit as his small body trembled and his eyes dilated with fear. My entire being shook as I watched Monokuma raise his paws. My own body unintentionally did the very same action and covered Ouma’s eyes, tugging his body against mine.

He immediately pressed his face into the side of my body, trying to further shield himself from the horrific screams of Toujou as Monokuma leapt down from his pillar and pulled the cables taught. Tighter and tighter, the cables tore into her body, sinking into the skin and causing blood to bead at the wounds.

His remaining four children come to his side, each taking a cable and they work together to pull and tug with such an unrelenting force that the cables. . . sink into Toujou’s skin and tear through her body. Her entire body is nothing more than minced meat that hits the ground with horrible bloody ‘sloop’s, wet splats and dripping red blood that dyes the cables red.

Toujou’s horrified and frightened scream will forever ring in our ears. . .


	13. {01} Trial {04} { CHAPTER END }

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of chapter 1. a lot of funeral/cremation business going on here + some plot stuff; will be going on a mini hiatus to write up chapter 2, everything is planned, just, ,, , gotta write it , , ,,

My entire brain shut down. Toujou was gone. Gone in the most horrible and brutal way. . . I know Monokuma referred to it as executions and a punishment. . . but. . . . this is. . . This was just too much! It was horrific and completely inhumane!

It just. . . It couldn't be real. . .  And yet. . . The ceiling opens, causing Toujou’s remains to plummet to the ground and her blood rains upon us, as if to prove our very doubts of the authenticity of what we just witnessed. Screams of terror erupt from just about everyone. I can feel Ouma’s trembling hands digging into my clothes to hold onto me as tightly as he could in fear and terror.

“What is this. . .?” Kiibo trembles, looking at the shredded remains of the maid. Miu hugs herself and presses her back against the nearest wall in a failed attempt to keep herself together.

“Atua, please give Kirumi a peaceful death.” Angie prays, down on her knees. I don't. . . I don't know how she can pray at a time like this, especially with Toujou’s blood on her white hair. Off to the side, Ikiko vomits between her tears, utterly broken and distressed by what she has witnessed. Tenko attempts to comfort her once more but its not working. Nothing is working.

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“Aaah! This is it! The feeling of **d** **e** **spair**!” Monokuma beams. “It’s so exhilarating!”

“Shut up!” I shout furiously. God. I don't want to hear another damn thing from that son of a bitch! Fuck him! _FUCK HIM HARD_!

“Don't you understand the value of lives?!” Tenko demands in despiratio, her face tinted blue with tears in her eyes and spittle running down her chin.

“Of course I do. I'm not a demon.” Monokuma shrugs. I will argue him on that one. “That’s exactly why this is all so thrilling! It's so fun to see live break so miserably! The sense of pleasure when you want to turn away, that is the true worth of this **Despair Entertainment**!”

. . .He did it again. Referring to all of this like a . . . like a program. . . What the _fuck_ happened in the last six years I was gone. . .?

“You easily transcend the level of a demon.” Shinguuji states with utter disgust.

“I haven't been this pissed off for a while.”  Ryouma grunts, tugging his hat over his eyes, casting a rather dark and threatening shadow on his face.

“I won’t forgive you. . .” Kaito hisses, clenching his fists. “GOT THAT?! I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!”

“Death flag.” Monokuma slyly whispers.

[ **\- Heartless Journey -** ](https://youtu.be/YhBFIjDybw4)

“. . .Are the bodies in my lab? And will Toujou’s be transported as well?” I reluctantly inquire.

“Yep.” Monokuma cheerfully beams. “As I told you, it’s your responsibility to cremate the bodies!” I sigh but nod my head no less. Carefully, I release Kaito’s arm from my grasp and pry Ouma from my body in order to approach Shuuichi, who’s been silent for the entire time. His shoulders were shaking and his legs were trembling, struggling so hard to keep standing.

Gently, I place my hands on his shoulders in order to guide him to the freight elevator. The whole time quiet tears rolled down his cheeks and on a few occasions, he stumbled over his feet. I give him a sympathetic pat on the back once we enter the freight elevator.

“You did great. . . and the case is. . .it’s over. . .” I choke on the words as I rest my head on his shoulder. Finally able to take my own words to heart, I start to cry. I cry as loudly as I could, choking on my own tears and incoherent babbles of how this was my fault. This is another life loss because of my failure. Kaito walks up to the two of us, pulling us both into his strong arms and Amami gives us both an affectionate pat on our heads.

“You did well Kazehaya-san.” Amami comforts. “Remember, Toujou-san believes in you, even now.”

“Hey, why don't you go to **Akamatsu’s Research Lab**.” Kaito offers in a soft voice. He seems a bit uncertain of what to say or what to do, maybe because he's isnt used to comforting boys or this is an entirely alien situation.  “I mean, in the end, it's a room prepared by Monokuma, but. . . It’s full of things Akamatsu loved.”

“Things. . . she loved. . .” Shuuichi repeats softly.

“I. . . I can't.” I mutter, my voice is hushed as Shuuichi’s and it's almost drowned out by the sounds of the freight elevator was it takes up to higher grounds. “I have to . . .take care to the bodies. . .”

“You don't have to take care of that alone.” Amami says with a gentle voice. I quickly shake my head, denying him of any chance to offer help before he could.

“No. I’m. . . I'm unfortunately _used_ to this. . . Everything should be prepared by the afternoon. . . You, everyone, can leave offerings at their urns at that time. . .”

“Why would you do that? You’ve haven't even known any of them for a week.” Maki questions from across the elevator. It seems, despite my attempts to use a low volume, everyone was looking our way. I don't know with what expression, but, right now I don't care. I'm just. . . so tired.

“I don't need a reason to do it. . .” I softly mumble. “I mean, I did care for them. . . and I just. . . I did want to know more about all of them. . . Whenever we leave, I want to be able to bring them all back home to their families too. . . I’m certain, someone out there misses them and I want to be able to give them something. . .

“. . .You have a bleeding heart.”

“Yeah. I know.”

 

* * *

 

[\- With the Stars and Us (Piano Version) EXTENDED -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72DGFBZjyzs)

The moment I burst into my Research Lab, I kicked off my shoes and yanked my thigh highs from my legs, tossing them to the side with frustration. My sorrow was gone and all that remained was anger. Anger directed at that disgusting scene. Inhumane. Horrendous. Assine. BULLSHIT. That son of a bitch is full of shit if he thinks I’m just going to sit here and take this shit!

With yet another angry huff, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the side, pulling the veil from my head in the process. I don't care. Himiko already knows what I look like.

“Exequip; Work Casual. Minus jacket and boots.” I hiss as I become too fed up with my own goddamn clothes. In a blur, my clothes were replaced with a pair of black shorts and a white tank top. Reaching up, I remove the hair clip in the shape of Blooming Hart and toss it Himiko’s way. With my veil tucked under her arm, she awkwardly fumbles to catch the clip. Once it’s finally in her grasp, she lifts it up to the light and squints her eyes.

“Nyah, what’s this for. . . ?”

“For protection. Keep it.” I firmly state, briskly walking around the folding wall to reach the steel door to the cremation room.

“Protection?” Himiko repeats, quickly following after me.

“The symbol that appeared during Toujou’s execution, it belongs to someone who wants me deader than dead. The Crawling Chaos himself.” Himiko pauses her stepping, shivering uncomfortably at the sound of that title.

“What. . . Who is that?” I let out a deep sigh as I open the door to the crematorium.

“He who embodies all of humanity's negative aspects. . .” Glaring at nothing in particular, I add: “and a complete jackass I’m destined to fight one day. . .” Himiko audibly gulps behind me.

“Is he. . .?”

“No.” I firmly state, cutting of the question before it could be asked. “What we are dealing with is not him, but instead one of his six remaining children. I _know_ his waves too well.” Entering the room, I approached the cabinet to pull three ihais, all prelabeled with the full names of the victims, and set them on the surface of the cabinet as a reminder to myself to take them up to the surface level when the cremation was complete.

“His children?!” Himiko gasps, shaking her fists to get across how pissed the very concept of the embodiment of despair using their own children to fight their battles.

“They’re rather pitiful in my opinion.” I sigh, opening the glass to get access to the waiting urns inside. I skimmed over the nametags to find the appropriate ones. Finding exactly what I needed, I handed off Kaede’s prelabeled urn -- a pretty pale pink and purple decorated with musical scales and notes -- and hand it and Toujou’s urn -- gray with spider web modifs -- over to Himiko and pointed to a table across the room, by the oven.

Taking Shirogane’s urn --  it was a rather simple dark green with a design that was reminiscent of silver threads -- into one arm, I grab three pairs of chopsticks and take them over to the table with the other urns and my veil. I place a pair of chopsticks down, next to each one, in order to not mix them up or disrespect the girls by using the same pair for each of them.

“What do you mean by. . . pitiful?” Himiko questions. “I mean, they got a lot of magic and power, right? They must have some pretty busy lives with a guy like that as a dad.”

“They’re pitiful because they are blissfully unaware of the bombs in their DNA.” Pausing, I mentally go over my list of preparations and proceed to prepare the six yen coins according to Japanese funeral traditions -- the money needed to pay the toll to cross the sanzu river.

Reaching into my wallet, I let out a soft sigh as all I come up with his a hand full of ¥1 coins. Why the hell do I have so many ¥1 coins?

“Nyah, bombs?” Himiko repeats, poking at her bottom lip with a baffled expression. “He puts explosives in them and sends his kids at ya?”

“Not literally.” Letting out a heavy sigh, I let my shoulders sag. “They all live normal lives, thinking they’re just normal humans. . . And then there is some sort of key event, usually orchestrated by him, and their lives simply fall apart. They become consumed by the **Chaos Magic** and the sin within them.”

“. . . The sin inside them? But don’t we all sin?”

“By nature, indulging yourself in certain things isn’t bad but for these kids, the sin itself _is_ the bomb.” I let out a heavy sigh as I set out six coins next to each urn. “The Multiverse contains a limited number of souls as the two who knew the art of how to create them are long gone. So when the Crawling Chaos created his seven children, he ‘blessed’ the souls with a sin to stabilize them. . .” Another sigh escapes me, but this time it’s not exhaustion or annoyance that consumes me. . . just sadness.

I return to the cabinet to grab the bundle of white fabric into my arms while using a spell to make spool of red thread, coil of red surgical suture and both a surgical and sewing needle float in the air.

The surgical supplies make their way over to Toujou’s body refrigerator and float in place, waiting to gain access. Confused, but a bit curious, Himiko opened the door of the fridge and using the sliding bed, she pulls the tray that Toujou’s remains reside on. Without skipping a beat, the suture threads itself through the needle and begins the process of stitching Toujou’s body back together.

I toss the bundle of cloth into the air, using magic to keep it floating in air, as I summon a vinyl measuring tape and a pair of sewing scissors. Seeing me open Kaede’s fridge door and roll the bed out, Himiko does the same for Shirogane’s as well. In the meantime, I pull Yuuki’s old diary out from my purse and flip to a page in the back of the book. When this book was returned to me, I used it to take a few notes and jot down other information I found no be important. . .  one being a magic circle that masks the smell of a burning fire. I don't want anyone to smell the crematorium at work, it would just be another unsettling reminder of what has happened.

“Here,” I say, handing the book over to the shorter girl. “draw this circle for me on the floor.”

“On it.” Himiko simply states, accepting the book and brandishing a stick of chalk out of seemingly nowhere with her free hand. Himiko makes her way to the center of the room and got to work by starting with a giant circle. I turn my attention back to the bodies, focusing on the various enchanted objects as they worked. The length of tape circled Kaede’s body, measuring the length of her shoulders, arms and legs, hips, chest and stomach.

Once the tape finished its job it left her body to perform the same measurements on Shirogane’s body and the scissors come in to carefully cuts Kaede’s clothes along the seams, leaving her bear in only her undergarments. After a moment of debate, I remove her hair clips by hand and carefully setting them down on the table by her urn.

Moving my arm across the horizon, almost like I was slapping someone, her clothes are swiftly removed and begin to float in the air, waiting for the thread and needle to come and stitch them back together as if they were never damaged in the first place.

“. . . To be honest, I only met one . . . so I’m not entirely sure of the process.” I quietly and suddenly admit, causing Himiko to look up from the magic circle. “But I know _she_ started to lose herself when her **Envy** became too much. . . She became a monster and with the last of her humanity, **she begged me to return to her. . . and kill her once I had the power to do so.** ”

“Don't you have a no kill policy. . .?” She asks, squinting her eyes in confusion.

“Yeah, but there are exceptions.” I sorrowfully mutter, motioning for Kaedes clothes to rest on the bench beside the table. The clothes float to the desired location, fold themselves and carefully flutter into place on the bench -- skirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater vest, tie, long socks and her loafers in that order -- which are quickly joined with Shirogane’s clothes and finally Toujou’s. After careful debate, I take Shirogane’s ribbon and Toujou’s gloves, carefully resting them beside their respective urns.

I look down at the table and sigh before looking back to the bodies on their trays, each of them were now draped in the silky white fabric and making a scissor cutting motion with my fingers three times, the spool of thread, needle and fabric scissors makes two copies of themselves, making a total of three for each item. With a twirl of my finger, the threaded needle and scissors get to work transforming the fabric into a respectable yukata.

“. . .The only exception to my policy is if someone’s humanity is gone, with no chance of ever recovering it, or if the person begs me to do so to spare them of further suffering. . . To be frank, she’s the exact reason why I have that policy.”

“Sounds troublesome . . .” I nearly sputter and falter for a moment, while Himiko squeaks, but I quickly regain my control over the enchanted items and turn to the door. Standing there with a calm and casual smile was Amami. “Did I surprise you?” He laughs a little. “Sorry.”

“You sure as hell did. . .” I sigh deeply. I turn back to the bodies once more. I proceed to fold the right of the kimono over the left as tradition demanded. The three scissors glide through the fabric to cut a stretch of material long enough to make an appropriate obi.

“You might wanna put your veil on.” He warns. Looking away from my work, I raise a brow. My answer comes in the form of feet slowly and awkwardly climbing down the stairs and the cry of: Kiriri?

Oh _fuck_

So, Kaito was more than aware that I was magical as fuck. However, I didn't . . . I wasn't ready for him to see my true form just yet. I already gave him a description of what the goddess Yuuki saw looked like -- which, reminder, is literally me -- I was concerned it would just stress him out or freak him out if I ended up just overloading him with _more wild information_ in one night.

I would be glad to tell him about it, but now is not the time. . .

“Himiko pass me my veil.” I sharply whisper. Himiko rolls away from the magic circle she was drawing, only to roll into the wall. She fumbles for a moment, nearly knocking over a urn as she jumps to her feet. She manages to save it with one hand and using the other she both grabs and then tosses my veil in my direction. I glance back to the door as I pull it over my head, with seconds to save before Kaito enters the room.

His expression is torn between screaming and looking amazed. . . It’s pretty much the final nail in the coffin concerning he has fears about supernatural and paranormal things.

“Holy shit Kiriri. . .”

“What are the two of you doing here. . . ?” I question with a heavy sigh. I glance back to the bodies to find that the obis have been completed. “Ah, one moment.” I turn away from them in order to collect the eighteen yen coins I set aside before. Placing six of the coins into Kaede’s hand, I curl her fingers around the coins and folds her hands together on her chest. After repeating the process to the other girls and checking up on Himiko’s progress, I turn back to those who intruded in my domain. “So what the fuck is up?”

“Aint it obvious?” Kaito huffs, pulling himself together. With a heavy sigh, he places his fist on his hip. “My girlfriend is taking care of something rather serious. . .” After a moment of debate, he walks around Amami to stand before me. He takes my hands into his own and gazes into my eyes. “And I. . . I love her too. I don't want her to carry this burden on her own.” A small little squeak escapes me, my face a bright red color, my eyes wide and jaw hanging open a bit.

Love. . . me. . .

“Oh. I guess, I did say that. . .” I whisper softly, unable to look into his eyes.

God. I said it in the heat of the moment and I never thought back on it. I must have sounded like an idiot for shouting that. . . but Kaito laughs. His expression is warm and loving. Gently, he cups my face and presses his lips against my own.

“Let me help you so you don't have to shoulder all the burdens on your own. . .”

“Kaito. . .” I whisper softly. Briefly, his eyes widen before a smile breaks across his face and he comes in for another kiss.

“Ah, same here,” Amami chuckles, stabbing the romantic feeling in the air. It’s dead. It’s fucking dead. “although it's not romantic on my end of the spectrum, I am concerned too. You _are_ my friend after all.” I lean to Kaito’s left to give Amami a look. He just shrugs with that dumb cute smile on his.

“Alright, as soon as Himiko finishes the magic circle, we’ll load Kaede and Shirogane’s bodies into the ovens, leave them a prayer and let the oven do its work.” I rub the back of my head with a thoughtful look. “It should take about three hours to do the job. . . once the bodies are cremated, it’s toes upwards into the urn.”

“. . .How many times have you done this?” Kaito asks softly. I uselessly shrug.

“A lot. I did it for everyone who died in Nevgelo’s civil war. My men and even those who fought against me.” with bitterness, I add:  “Except Jack’s parents. Fuck them.”

“Jack?”

“One of my husbands, I will explain it another day. Not when we have work to do.” I point to the cabinet over by Amami. “Grab like, nine more sets of chopsticks.”

“Why so many. . .?” He questions out loud.

“One for each of you and a clean set for each body.” I simply state.

“The circle is done!” Himiko exclaims, jumping up to her feet and her arms into air. I compliment her on her work and step onto the circle to activate the spell. Starting from the center of the flower, a trail of pale pink light branches out to follow the lines the chalk created until they reach the outer ring of circle and once the points of light unite, the room is filled with a brilliant light and beautiful white petals begin to rain down from above, bathing the room in the familiar scents of the ocean breeze and white lilies.

“My, what a lovely scent.” Amami smiles rather serenely, ignoring the petals that are landing on his head. Despite that, in that brief moment. . . he _really_ looked beautiful. More so than usual, which I would have thought was an impossible feat.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

Shuuichi wasn't sure what he was expecting when he stepped into Akumatsu-san’s Research Lab. It was a relatively simply looking room; the curtains were drawn, letting the moonlight in -- once again proving the sunlight they saw during Toujou’s execution was a trick of the light to make it all the more dramatic for Monokuma, the bastard -- and walls were lined with various classical CDs, cassette tapes and even vinyls -- all with the proper equipment to play them -- a number of music sheet stands were littered about. . . but what grabbed his attention, more than anything, was the beautiful grand piano with a black finish in the center of the room.

He carefully approaches the piano with his hat in hand -- Kazahaya-san had finally returned it to him when she stepped off the freight elevator and before departing to her own research Lab with Yumeno-san on her tail -- and he carefully runs his free hand down the length of the piano.

This being the first time in the room. . . he has no fond memories to look back on. . . but he recalls a certain piano piece Akamatsu-san fondly told him about. He makes his way over to the shelf of music and quickly skims over them to find a single CD titled Debussy's Clair de Lune. Removing the CD from its case, he places it inside the CD player with the utmost care and a soft melody fills the room almost instantly.

Shuuichi returns to the piano and simply stands beside it. His hands uncomfortably bunch up his hat as he recalls the sun setting and Akamatsu-san holding his hand after he told her about the incident that made him shield his eyes from the world with his hat in detail.

She didn't roll her eyes or call him pathetic for his fear. Instead, she smiled gently, wishing she had a piano so she could play this very song for him to help cheer him up. . . Truthfully, to hear her say that brought him some comfort, even if it was a silly idea to be wasted on him. . .

. . .Her believing in him was just as crazy. He can't quite understand why so many people do. . . but, in honor of her memory, he will most certainly keep trying to believe in himself. . . and if he falls. . . he knows others will be there to support him. . .

With shaking hands and as tears roll down his cheeks anew, Shuuichi steps forward to place his hat on the surface of Kaede’s grand piano. . . And for a moment, as he steps back, he swears he saw her there playing the piano, her delicate fingers pressing key after key.

_“It’s a promise. . . A promise between you and me. . ._

And with those words, the ghostly apparition of Kaede smiles at him before fading away to stardust and her voice echoes around him, wrapping him in one last hug.

_“I’m so glad. . . I’ll leave the rest to you and Kazehaya-san. . . Goodbye Saihara-kun. . .”_

 

* * *

 

_We gather her today to say farewell to the girl born from the maple tree. Her heart was as golden as her hair and held so many wishes for a future where we all could live in safety and as friends._

_Kaede Akamatsu will be dearly missed._

 

* * *

 

_We gather to honor the memory of a silver girl born from the snow. She may have been simple but she loved the animated arts so much she grew a passion to bring it to life and she was a very dear friend to us all._

_Tsumugi Shirogane will be dearly missed._

 

* * *

 

_We gather here today to reaffirm our promises made to a dear friend. She carried herself with pride and with a strength that surpasses us all. We will always remember her as she who cared and loved us._

_Kirumi Toujou will be dearly missed._

 

* * *

 

**CHAPTER ONE:**

**My** **Class Trial, Our Class Trial**

**CLEARED**

 

**Students Still Alive:**

**15**

 

* * *

 

                    “You’re going off script.”

 

                                                            “Am I? Or perhaps your script is outdated.”

 

“W-What?!                                                            

 How dare you--!!”                                                      

 “Isnt that my line?

I created Danganronpa.

What I says goes. I don't need

you to broadcast my work.”

 

                                   “After all the work

                                We’ve done for you. . .!”

 

“Ah. . .you all need to realize your place.   

After all, this will be the final season       

of Danganronpa.”                    

 

                                                                                           “But our contract--!!”

 

                                   “Contracts?

                       Those mean nothing to me.

                    I am not bound by paper and ink.”

 

* * *

 

**  
MEMENTO GAINED!**

**Servant's Gloves  
  
** A memento of Kirumi Toujou.  
She always wore them as she worked for everyone's sake.

 


	14. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {01}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i guess i lied?  
> Well, not really about anything bad.  
> Since I'm almost done with the (Un)Ordinary Days portion of Chapter 2, I decided to say fuck it and decided to start posting this hot mess  
> Chapter 2 marks the beginning of digging into the magic part of this mess, dont hesitate to ask questions if you dont quite understand what I'm trying to get across.

“Harukawa-chan?” I call as I rap my knuckle against the door. I open my mouth to call out to her once more but the door eases open with a low **CREEEEAK**. I gulp as I’m immediately filled with dread. Maki wasn’t the kind of person to leave anything of hers unlocked or unattended.

Maybe. . . Maybe she was fine. . .

Ha.

What a joke that was.

 

[ **\- Regret -** ](https://youtu.be/uJaNqKMN2m4)

Kaito said she always answered the door with a simple ‘no’ when he came knocking on her research lab door. She was guarding this door with every tooth and nail for some reason. That much was clear. . . My trembling hand reaches out and pushes the door open just a little wider. . .

There’s only darkness waiting but my senses are assaulted with a coppery smell. My shoulders immediately tense. A hand flies to the wall, groping for the light switch as the other reaches into my purse for my phone. With my phone finally in my hand I flick on the flashlight function and shine it on the wall to locate the light switch, only to learn that was a pointless effort.

A hunting knife has been jammed into the switch, cutting the cables thus preventing the lights from turning on. I shifted the light across the floor in hopes of finding some sign of life. . . but there are so many weapons scattered across the floor. Guns, knives and even arrows. . .?

God. What happened here. . .?

 

[ **\- Body Discovery C -** ](https://youtu.be/fbOAEeMFmDI)

Fear coiled in my stomach, ready to explode any moment when the light shined on a puddle of red at feet of a chair. My hands trembled as the light moved up the backside of the chair to find wrists bound together with thick rope and between the chair’s legs, thin ankles bound together.

Cautiously, I edged closer to the body as I noticed their head was was tilted downwards, as if they were looking down at their lap, but. . . when I finally reached their side, I was more than aware, that was not the case. Wrapped around their neck, digging deep, deep into the flesh was what appeared to be invisible wire. . .

Trembling breaths escaped me as I placed a hand under her chin to check her face. Her red scrunches were pulled out of her hair, perhaps lost somewhere in the room, but silver tape sealed her lips shut and the bow of her fuku was pulled from her uniform and wrapped around her eyes, blindfolding her. . . even so. . .

I could tell. . . this was undoubtedly the body of **Maki Harukawa** , **Super High School Level Nursery School Teacher**.

 

[ **\- Regret -** ](https://youtu.be/uJaNqKMN2m4)

Maki’s fuku was filled with holes and I could faintly smell gunpowder. She was shot and violently stabbed. . . In her left shoulder was an arrow. . .  as for her right one. . .it was barely hanging onto the body at this point.

How. . .

How could this happen?

It didn’t make _sense_. Maki was strong. . . and there’s no way anyone could simply sneak up on her, tie her up and just. . .brutally and gruesomely beat her up like this. . . Even so, the fucking body is before my eyes. Despite all what said was impossible. . .was proven to be possible.

Maki was a good person. . . so why did she. . . why . . .?

“This can't be real.” I choke. I want to deny this. . .  But I cannot deny the truth before me. A strangled scream escapes be as tears stream down my face. Not only was Shuuichi gone. . . so was she. . . why.

W H Y    I S    T H I S    H A P P E N I N G    ? !

 

* * *

 

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**ALMOST** **HELL** **HEAVEN**

**(Un)Ordinary Days**

 

* * *

 

**June 25th; Day 06**

 

* * *

 

I awake with a start, choking on air and struggling to kick the sheets off my body. Limbs flail as I struggle to pull my body upright. My hand finds an anchor on some cloth, or something, as I finally fling myself forward and I struggle to breath.

A hand gently touches my backside and a soothing voice tells me it’s fine, everything is okay. I’m safe. Wheezing, shuddering breaths escape me as I struggle to get myself together. Eventually, my breathing calms down and I lift my head up to look around.

. . . This isn't my room. Looking over to my left, I find Kaito looking at me, gently running his hand through my hair. A soft sigh escapes me. I press my body close to his and he reaches over my legs to grab the red comforter and pull it over our bodies. He gently presses a kiss to my forehead, whispering once more everything is okay.

Right. . .

After finishing the cremation, we -- Himiko, Amami, Kaito and myself -- brought the urns, ihais, some select items and their final outfits up to the first floor. I found a chest to store their final outfits -- since it didn't feel right to go dump these old clothes in the trash or return to to their rooms -- placed their urns at the altar along with their ihais and select items -- Kaede’s musical note shaped hair clips, Tsumugi’s orange uniform ribbon and the gloves Toujou always wore.

After lighting a few sticks of lavender incense, we prayed once more for their souls and departed for the dorms. On the way back, Himiko fell asleep so, with a laugh, Amami carried her back to her room, leaving Kaito and myself alone. With blushing cheeks, he asked me if I would like to stay with him.

I accepted.

“Hey, Kiriri. . . you okay?” He asks in a soft voice. Slowly, I nod my head against his chest.

“Yeah. . . Just. . . I think. . . I think I had a vision?” He blinks. Carefully placing his hands on my shoulders, he pulls back and gazes directly into my eyes.

“What happened?”

“I-I’m not entirely sure?” I admit, cradling my head with a hand. “. . .Something happened to Shuuichi and--”

“Wow first name basis. . . you must be really digging Saihara, huh?”

“Well, h-he is really cute. . .” I mutter. “And, uh, really sweet too ya’ know. . .”

“I can agree to that. He’s pretty cute without his hat. . . . speaking of that, I wonder where it went?” I suddenly burst out laughing before giving his chest a light shove.

“Oh my god. Kaito. _That’s gay as hell._ ” His cheeks flush red as if it’s dawned upon him exactly what he said. He rubs the back of his neck and glances to the side.

“I mean, I-I guess?” I laugh once more, before gently patting his arm and wiping a tear from my eye.

“That’s fine if you like him! I mean, if we both like him, we both can, ya know, date him?” I suggest. To my utter surprise, Kaito’s face explodes in red and he proceeds to hide his face in his hands. As cute as his flustered face is. . I shouldn't ignore the actual subject at hand. “But. . . in my vision, Shuuichi and Maki were dead. . .” Horror washes over Kaito’s expression.

“What?! What happened?!”

“. . .I can't really remember.” I admit, pushing my bangs back. “I just. . . I just remember seeing Maki’s body. It was horrible. . . It looked like she was tortured to death. . .?”

“Shit . . . Torture?” Kaito grimances, probably disgusted by the images that came to mind.  “That’s a shitty way to go. . . She doesn't deserve that.”

“I know. . .” I whisper softly. I lift my head, giving him a searching expression. “Maybe I should look out for her. . .”

“Then, I’ll take care of Shuuichi.” Kaito laughs, “He probably needs some help to take his mind off things too. I’ll take him under my wing and make him my sidekick! Every hero needs a sidekick!”

“You sure that's not an excuse to get close him and kiss him?” Again, Kaito’s face glows red and he tries to hide his flustered face from me. I break out in giggles, wrapping my arms around his flushed huddled form, and rests my head against his own.

“God if they knew we were talking about them on a first name basis Maki would kill us while Shuuichi just. . . blushed and babbled.”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- HIKARI (2016 Piano & String Version) -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88rWhJ7uG4)

I woke up again, at about six-thirty, long before the morning announcement would play. Kaito was still asleep, peacefully snoring with his arms wrapped around my body. It took a little work to escape his grasp, he immediately whines about this and tries to pull my back into his arms. . . All he succeeds in doing is pulling a pillow into his arms.

God.

He’s so fucking cute.

_This is a mistake and you know it._

Narrowing my eyes, I sent a glare over to my purse innocently sitting on the surface of the nearby table. Muttering under my breath, I grab it before heading into the bathroom. I’m not a goddamn idiot despite the bullshit that I say sometimes. I _know_ this is a mistake. I’m going to be erased from everyone’s memories as soon as I complete my objective, just as the rules dictate.

I’d rather not have things turn out that way but I’m not so sure how to prevent that from playing out in the end. . .  Man, fuck some of the rules **The Council** gives me. . . Then again, I’m already fucking some of them over and exceptions have been made for me. I can't keep asking them to just bend things for me. . . So it’s only a matter of time before I’m told I have to accept it. . . and because I can't be selfish about it, I’ll. . . I’ll just have to. . .

Ugh. Is it really a sin to just be happy in the moment. . .?

Stepping out of the shower, I pulled on clean clothes and took my medication. Stuffing the shirt Kaito lent me for the evening into my purse, I made my way to his bedside and kissed his cheek before departing from the room.

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

I had a lot of work to do now that Toujou was gone. I would have to check on the altar and change the offerings daily, prepare meals and help keep this place tidy. I’d also have to figure out _how_ Toujou took care of cleaning clothes and everything. As far as I’m aware there’s no laundry room on the first floor. Knowing her she probably did it all by hand.

God.

She’s so impressive. . .

. . .

Or was.

Damnit. It’s hard to believe only yesterday she, Kaede and Shirogane were all alive. . .

“Ah! Kazehaya! You’re here!” Lifting my head up, I see that Monophanie is standing outside the door of my Research Lab. I raise a brow. She’s not calling me bastard or anything. . .  so what the FUCK is up with that? “Can I ask a favor of you. . .?” If possible, my brows would have just entered orbit. Why the _hell_ would she ask _me_ for a favor?

“What kind of favor. . .?” I stupidly ask. Why did I even bother to ask. It probably wasn't anything good.

“Oh!” She gasps, taken by surprise. “I didn't expect you to listen. . . Um, could you perhaps cremate Monotaro’s remains? I would like to have something in order to visit him. In exchange I can supply you with fresh offerings everyday. . . Oh! And photos for the altar!”

Oh thank god. I was actually wondering where I would get the offerings from. . .

“Well, if it’s something as non-violent and as simple as that I have no reason to deny your request, but you better keep your end of the bargen.”

“Of course!” Monophanie gasps. “I promise to bring fresh offerings eeeeeveryday!!” As if to make her point, she suddenly presents me with numerous items -- three framed photos carefully stacked ontop of eachother, a mesh net bag containing a three umes -- Japanese apricots -- and a number of Japanese peaches and a bundle of Morning Glories. “Taaaaa-daaah!!”

“Alright, well, bring the body to my lab whenever you can. I got a scrambled as fuck schedule now but I’ll get the job done.”

“Yaaay! Thank you!!” Goddamn. Her politelness was fuckinig weird compared to the rest of her family. Regardless, Monophanie takes this a chance to disappear with a grin on her face.

Nevertheless, I toed off my mary janes the moment I entered the lab, placing them where they belonged in the genkan and approached the altar. With the use of magic, the set of the altar changed; a urn situated beside the framed photo of the deceased, while on the right hand side sat a stacked tower of fruits,  on the left hand side were the flowers and their ihai centered before the portrait along with the items I chose in the memory of the deceased.

I looked at the silver hair clips before Kaede’s photo before carefully pocketing the one in a shape of the 8th note.

“It’s for Shuuichi.” I don't know why I’m saying that out loud. . . After all, despite their cruel deaths, there are no souls around. . .Toujou died cruelty and without any peace, Shirogane most likely has no idea who killed her and while Kaede’s killer was punished, she most certainly wouldn't move on without the Mastermind being taken down. . .

And yet, despite that. . . there’s no signs of any of them. To be perfectly honest, it’s very concerning. . .

“ANYWAY!” I say out loud to no one in particular.

 

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

“Yeah, so, what’s with _that bear_ coming by for a visit?” Spinning around, I find Ouma standing at the doorway with an irritated look as he takes off his shoes, carelessly dropping them to the floor of the genkan.

“Fucking Christ, you scared me.” I sigh. Placing my hands on my hips, I look him right in his eyes and he storms up to me with a pissed off look. He clenches his fists and leans forward.

“So? What’s your excuse now?” He demands.

“‘Excuse’? That’s harsh man. . .” I mumble. “She just asked me to cremate her brother and in exchange she would bring me new offerings daily.” To make my point, I motions to the altar to show him the goods I acquired today. “Kinda lucky for me since I have no idea where to get fruits or flowers on this campus. I’m not going to attempt to steal any from the Altar of Judgement either. That has death written all over it.” Ouma loudly hums, as if he’s taking his sweet time to see if my story checks out, then pokes at his cheek with that cute expression and a tilt of his head.

“I see. . . you’re _still_ lying, but not about this.” Folding his arms behind his head, he cheekily grins. “But I guess I can't complain _too_ much. . . I’m a liar too after all!”

“. . . Who hurt you?” I find myself stupidly asking. His face falls and he’s looking down to his feet.

“Do you want a list or what. . . ?” Seeing the look of distress on my face he breaks out into a smile. “Nishishi! That was a lie!!”

. . .

Sounds fake, but okay.

“Yeah, sure, let’s go with that.” I sigh, crossing my arms. “So, what brings you here? If all you wanted to do is bitch at me for Monophanie visiting, you wouldn't have bothered to follow my rules about tatami mats and would have made a scene about it. Like, drag dirt all over my mats and shit.” I pause for a moment. “Actually wait, the answer is obvious. . . you’re here to pray, right?”

“Me? A supreme leader, _pray_?” He gasps, placing a hand on his chest, as if I’ve terribly offended him. . . and then his face is a blank slate. “So what if I want to?”

“Hey, I don't care.” I uselessly shrug. “I mean, it's pretty clear to me that you care for people. . . Even if you actions _looked_ dismissive, you gave Hekoten-chan genuine advice during the trial. . . And, even if others question it, I know you sure as hell were affected by Toujou-chan’s execution.”

“I wish you’d forget that!” He grunts, looking rather embarrassed. “It totally kills my vibe! You’re like the only one, other than Harukawa-chan, that's completely undisturbed by my actions! You’re not even _annoyed_ like she is!”

“Because I’m more concerned about your pathological lying more than anything.” I admit with a heavy sigh. “It’s a sign of . . . uh, mental illness or the result of abuse or neglect. It . . It doesn't exactly have great associations.”

“But lying is natural!” Ouma laughs without a care in the world. “Besides my lies aren’t that bad! They’re just little white lies!”

“Well, yeah, I’ve noticed that.” I sigh, scratching at my cheek. He actually pointed this out before and I agreed with him then. Did he forget or something? “Not all lies are malicious or bad and opposite is true too.”

“Hmm?”

“That not all truths are pure. Some are terrible to learn, but your lying is on a different level. Pathological lying is when you lie for no reason or you’re constantly compelled to lie. Just no control.” Ouma hums once more, rocking in the balls of his heels.

“You know onee-chan,” A smile splits across his face. It looks rather cute and endearing but I can see the pain in it. “despite our likeness, we are nothing alike! You’re so cruel although! Acting like you _care_ for people you don’t even know!” His expression darkness and he points his finger to his temple as if he’s pretending to hold a gun to his head. “I know your type. Act all sweet and nice -- pretend that you _love_ and _care_ for them -- and once someone drops their walls, you stab them in the back!”

“You know, I still stand by what I said at the trial.” I say with a simple sigh. “Besides, I’m not one of _those_ tool bags. I’d never be like them. Everything I do has genuine feelings behind them. . .” Placing my hands on my hips once more, I gaze upon him with a calm expression. “But you already know that and _that’s_ why my actions scare you and are categorized as unknown in your mind.”

“Wooooow onee-chan! You think you understand me! That’s so cute!” He’s clearly uncomfortable so I simply sigh, excusing myself with the explanation that I have to prepare breakfast.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

To get access to the dining hall before the 8AM announcement I had to make a request to Monodam, who was apparently the newest leader of the Monokubz, and it was a tad bit unsettling. It’s impossible to get a read on him compared to his siblings and he pretty much just stood around and stared at me.

“Were the trash cans emptied yet?” I question pointing to a trash can in the dining hall.

“N0.” Monodam replies, his synthetic voice lacking any emotion. “1T-W4S-T0UJ0U’S-J0B-T0-D3L1V3R-TH3- TR4SH-T0-TH3-B1N-B3H1ND-TH3-SCH00L. FR0M-TH3R3-1T-W0ULD-B3-T4K3N-BY-US-CUBS-T0 -TH3-1NC1N3R4T0R-4T-8PM-3V3RY-0TH3R-D4Y.”

“Ah.” I softly acknowledge. Which would mean any possible evidence from Shirogane’s murder would still be inside. . . I should replace the trash bags in the meantime although. Don’t need the trash to stink up the place.

Regardless, too many aspects of Shirogane’s murder made no sense to me. The rule of ‘only the suspect of the first victim found would be considered the blackened’ had yet to be put into place at the time of her murder, so what would be the point in even doing it?

There is none. . . not unless. . . it was the Mastermind? A Mastermind would know the rules before we did and could even make some up in order to cover up their tracks. . . but that doesn’t explain _why_ they did it. . . There’s always a why and a reason to an action. If they simply enjoyed murder wouldn't the scene of the crime be more. . . what’s the word? Fervent? Over the top?

I don't know. . . but, one thing is apparent, and that's the killer is among us. . . but there’s no leads at all. . . Both of the dining hall and kitchen trash is completely empty of anything suspicious or that could strangle someone. Maybe I was hoping for too much for a mastermind to simply leaving behind evidence. They wouldn't be a mastermind if they could easily be caught. . . or, they’d be a really shitty one. . .

Still, that left the possibility that they carried the evidence with them into the trial and disposed of it their room or something. . .  Either way, I need to look into the trash bin outside. . . and possibly rooms? Sneaking in vents isn’t too hard to do once you get in one. . .

But I can't today. . . I have to make more brooches in order to protect everyone and prevent a case like Toujou’s from happening ever again. And this will be something I’ll have to do on my own since no one but myself -- and my blood children -- cannot recreate the Melody Clan mon, the Blooming Hart, as any attempts made by those outside the clan will result in failure. It was an old fail safe I created to prevent anyone of bad intentions from getting to my family and loved ones. It makes work a bit more taxing but, their safety makes it all worth it. . .

Pulling myself from my thoughts I turn my attention back to the rice, remembering to stir it before the water boiled over and then proceeded to flip the fish over on the grill. Setting the chopsticks down I approached a large pot cooking the miso soup. Using a ladle, I poured some of the soup into a testing dish and took a sip.

“It needs more time. . .” I sigh. I cross the room to another stovetop where numerous pans of eggs cooked. Fried, poached, scrambled and omurice. God. I love eggs. Oh fuck. I sound like that one girl from the ‘THE GIRL’S ROOM’ skit on the Amanda Show. God. I have not thought of that show in forever. The dancing lobsters were great. If only we had to deal with that instead of a homicidal bear and his shitty kids.

. . . Life isn't easy for anyone right now. . .but, I’ll do what I can to at least ease that burden.

 

* * *

 

I didn't stay for breakfast that morning because of my work. As soon as I was done preparing the food, I served them on large plates on one of the tables along with pitchers of milk, water and orange juice, glasses, utensils and a stack of plates. On the way out of the dining hall I took the trash bags with me and Monodam even thanked me for doing that.

I’m really not sure what to feel about this cub. . .

Nonetheless, I took the bags to the bin behind the campus. It seems, prior to the class trial, the bin was emptied as nothing was found inside. Well. Shit. There goes _that_ lead. Either way, I should have time tomorrow to investigate. I have fourteen goddamn brooches to make. . .

And so, I return to my lab to find Monosuke, with an exasperated expression, and Monokid, with a bored look on his face, waiting, next to a small box. The yellow bear huffs, pushing his tiny glasses into place.

“I can't fathom why the _hell_ you would need this garbage.”

“I asked for like fourty, at most, for each item.” I sigh, lifting up the box and giving it a shake. The gemstones inside rattle a bit. I hope they’re not scratched. Jesus. I am not good at any Crystal or Earth magic to repair that hot mess.

“This **favor** is shit!” Monokid shouts, as he goes off on a tangent about _why_ it's terrible. I roll my eyes. I bet he was hoping for murder or something. What an idiot.

“When did I ask for your opinion?” I huff. Monosuke mutters something under his breath once more and I snort as I watch the brothers storm off on stubby legs. Entering my lab, I remove my shoes as usual and make my way to the sanctuary that is my office. At my desk I open the box to find the materials I need to craft my brooches -- sheets of white gold, black diamonds and opals. The stones were bigger than actually necessary but the size made it certain that I had enough to work with.

So I can't _repair_ things needing Crystal or Earth Magic, but I can reshape and mold metals, gems and crystals with said magic. The only problem that actually existed was the fact I’m a _shit_ at those types of magic. I’m vastly superior with Water Magic, I can only assume it’s because I was basically ‘born’ and raised on the water. Florida is nothing but water and swamp cats.

Goddamn.

Magic is fucking weird. . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

I wasn’t surprised to see that Himiko excelled at various forms of Black Magic -- she had a decent footing in both Crystal and Earth -- which was a complete opposite of my situation. I was a disaster with Black Magic -- I was required to wear special armors to help control the magic and I used a number of enchanted items to perform element based attacks -- but I was talented in various aspects to the White Magic branches and obviously Hope Magic.

Nonetheless, by working together we’ve managed to complete several brooches thus far.

“I’m outta mana.” She huffs, hitting the floor with a thud. After a moment of debate, she decides to roll under the kotasu and rest her head in my lap, mumbling some sleepy nonsense. With a smile, I remove her hat and pat her on the head. Looking back to the surface of the kotasu, I examine our collaborative efforts -- a brooch in the shape of my clan’s mon, a heart composed of half opal and half black diamonds set on white gold.

 

Just as I set the brooch back down the shouji door of my office slides back to reveal Amami, Kaito and Shuuichi, the latter looking rather awkward and a tad embarrassed. I smile, greeting them with a wave. They enter the room together and I realize they brought a plate of onigiri, simple sandwiches and bottled drinks.

“Hey Kiriri!” Kaito greets with a beaming smile as he sets one of the plates down on the surface of the kotasu. He, Shuuichi and Amami take a seat around the table as well. “We decided to bring you some lunch!”

“Really? That’s so sweet of you guys!”

“Nyah,” Himiko wines. “I heard food.” She suddenly sits upright, right in my lap, and grabs an onigiri. I laugh a little at the sight of her enthusiastically digging into her food. 

“Ah, so that’s where Yumeno-san went off too.” Amami chuckles. “Chabashira-san has been in a tizzy looking for her.” But all Himiko does is shrug her shoulders.

“She came to help me,” I motion to the brooches on the table. “To make these to be exact. They’ll protect the wearer from any **Chaos Magic**. Er, any magic with ill intentions.”

“Magic with ill intention. . .” Amami repeats, staring down at his food with a thoughtful expression.

“So, even something like ‘ **Hope Magic** ’ can have do bad things?” Kaito inquires.

“Well, yeah, Hope Magic takes the users positive emotions and weaponize it. . .  That doesn't mean those positive feelings can't be used to destroy things. . .” I sigh. “To be perfectly honest, I’m not a preacher. I’m what’s called a ‘ **Sage** ’.”

“Ah. . .and what exactly _is_ a **Sage**?” Shuuichi inquires.

“ **A student to a God**.” Himiko states between bites of her food.

“A. . .GOD?!” Kaito booms in utter shock. I snort a little at his shocked expression. Even in shock he was cute. My smile fades and a frown makes its way onto my face. I put a hand to my mouth, struggling to organize the information about my life, my involvement with magic and The Council itself. After what feels like forever, I lower my hand and give them all a smile.

“Alright, just siddown. I need a break anyway so, I’ll explain as much as I can in simple terms.”


	15. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {02}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and one more for the road,

[ **\- Miss ~~(~~** ~~**Monomi** ~~ **~~)~~ Aphrodite’s Practice Lesson -** ](https://youtu.be/g9R5mpVVuQ8)

**[** **Aphrodite’s Corner** **]**

It’s time for your lesson, my darling child!

As you know, The Council is composed of many individuals that work together in harmony to supervise the various worlds that create the Multiverse! The Council is composed of three groups, each that have important responsibilities to perform. Not a single one is more important than the other. Should one level fail, the whole order can fall into a collapse!

Beginning with ourselves, **The Gods of Cosmos** work together to shape the multiverse and aspects of each world that exists. Their responsibilities range from shaping the reality of the world to its physical appearance. Many of these Gods represent prevalent traits show in humanity.

  * **Kamina** , _The Lord of Willpower and Strength_ , was the first mortal to become a God out of sheer willpower and determination. Since his arrival, has become the leader of the Gods.
  * **Hypnos** , _The Philosopher of Dreams and Knowledge_ , is the god responsible for blessing the living with dreams and a wellspring of knowledge.
  * **Aphrodite** , _The Guardian of Love and Relationships_ , grants mortals their ability to pursue relationships and she does her best to guide mortals to friends, family and lovers.
  * **Aegle** , _The Muse of Art and Lore_ , is a being that passed the ability of art and storytelling to the living.
  * **Yoshiya 'Joshua' Kiryu** , _The Composer of Structure and Reality_ , a strange young man that governs the concept of structures and reality by influencing humans with music and art.
  * **Claire 'Lightning' Farron** , _The Savior of the Cosmos and Roses_ , a woman that ascended to godhood and is the force governing time and space.
  * **Madoka Kaname** , _The Student of Hope and Magic_ , a young girl that sacrificed her very existence to change the laws of magic so no one else had to suffer due to the unfair one that existed forehand.
  * **Amaterasu** , _The Wolf of the Shining Heavens_ , the sun goddess that takes shape of a wolf and the keeper of sacred brush techniques that paint the skies.
  * **Izanami-no-Mikoto/Marie Melody** , _The Mother of Weather and Poetry_ , a fragment of humanity's perception of the goddess Izanami-no-Mikoto that gained her own sentience, she has become the governing force of weather with her magnificent poetry.
  * **Khrystie Melody** , _The Kamikaze of Hope_ , a young woman that inherited the throne of hope after the Erasure of The Lady of Hope and pursues the goal of spreading hope through the Multiverse.



Oh! It seems we’re out of time! Until next time my darling!

 

* * *

 

**June 26th; Day 07**

 

* * *

 

“Hello? Bugs. . . where are you? Do not worry! Gonta is friendly!!” But only silence greets him. Gonta hums, confused by this development. He most certainly saw a bug and this environment has plenty of water, sunlight and food. . . so why can't he find any? Huffing, Gonta crosses his arms. “Weird. This is very weird.”

And that's when he notices something even stranger . . .

 

> いわうま

Among the grass is a slab of stone with some kanji carved into it. He tilts his head in confusion.

“. . . Horse?” He wonders out loud. That’s _really_ weird. Is there a horse on the campus somewhere? With another hum, Gonta decides to take is leave. He could figure out the mystery of this strange stone another time. Perhaps with the others. They were much smarter than him.

. . .

“Oh, Gonta,” I blink. “Good morning.” A smile breaks across my face as I wave a greeting to the tall young man. Gonta breaks out into a smile, greeting me with a wave of his own.

“Good morning Kazehaya-san! Gonta was worried when he did not see you yesterday!”

“Sorry, I was making these brooches for everyone!” I laugh, pulling one of the brooches out of my purse. To my surprise, Gonta lets out a quiet gasp and covers his mouth as his eyes sparkle. “They’re for protection from magic with bad intentions!”

“Gonta still don’t quite understand magic. . .” He admits, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “But, if Kazehaya-san says it will protect us,” and he flashes a brilliant smile. My face grows a little redder. God _damn_ my useless gay heart. “then Gonta will trust Kazehaya-san!”

“Alright!” I smile. I make a motion for him to kneel down just a bit. He follows my request allowing me to attach the brooch to the lapel of his suit jacket. “There you go!” I continue to beam. . . and suddenly tears start to roll down his cheeks. I let out a strangled sound, completely taken by surprise. Did I poke him or something?! _Shit._

“Gonta. . . Gonta is so happy! Gonta has never received a gift before! Not one as beautiful and as thoughtful as this either! Gonta will cherish it!”

“O-Oh. I see.” With an awkward laugh, I rub the back of my neck. “For a moment, I thought I hurt you or something. . .”

“Kazehaya-san could never hurt Gonta!” I could. I mean, I wouldn’t, but it’s totally and entirely possible. Another awkward laugh escapes me.

“No, I wouldn’t.” A beat passes. “Gonta, can you assist me in the kitchen today?”

“Eh? Well, Gonta does not know how to cook, but Gonta would love to help!”

“That’s fine.” I assure with a smile. “I can help teach you! Learning some basics is good, ya know?” He looks a tad bashful and his cheeks flush.

“Kazehaya-san is so helpful. . . Gonta has hardly helped her back.”

“You don't have to do anything to pay me back.” I laugh and gently pat his forearm to assure him once more.

 

* * *

 

**DING-DONG!**

“Ah-! Who is it!?”

**DING-DONG! DING-DONG!**

“Wait! One moment!”

**DING-DONG! DING-DONG! DING-DONG!**

“ _Please_!”

**DING-DONG!**

“I’m coming!” Shuuichi stumbles up to the door, struggling to pull his pants up with one hand and holding his white dress shirt close. He manages to pull his pants up, remembering to pull the belt through the buckle, before unlocking his door and the opening door to his bedroom just a crack.

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

Kaito proceeds to push the door open wider, causing Shuuichi to stumble backwards, and steps right into the smaller male’s room. The moment he actually _looks_ at Shuuichi his brain briefly shuts down. First of all, holy shit. He’s fresh out of the shower -- his hair is damp and his clothes are sticking to his body -- so there’s no way he’s put on makeup, which means his lashes really _are_ real.

. . .Two, holy _fuck_ , Shuuichi has a really nice body? He certainly has some feminine charm, his limbs are thin, long and delicate. And God, his shirt was currently haphazardly buttoned, the collar falling down to show off his shoulder.

Goddamn. . .

“Hey! Wha’d ya doing? It’s already morning!” Kaito announces once he finally pulls himself together.

“Mo-Momota-kun? Do you. . .Do you need something?” Shuuichi questions softly, his trembling fingers struggling to fix his shirt.

“Ain’t it obvious?! It’s breakfast time! What kind of hero would I be if I wasn't sure if my sidekick was up and ready!?” Flustered, Shuuichi glances to the ground and scratches the top of his head.

“Ah. . . You. . . You were serious about that?”

“Obviously!” Kaito beams. “Besides Kiriri and Amami, I trust you more than anyone else! I’ll always support you Saihara! So, c’mon! Get dressed! Kiriri is waiting for us to join for breakfast today!” Nodding his head, Shuuichi makes his way over to his closet to pull out a fresh black gakuran.

“. . .I. . . I don't eat breakfast.” Shuuichi reluctantly admits as he pulls on his uniform top, however, he’s completely unaware of the fact that Kaito’s eyes are nearly bulge out of his head.

“Don't eat breakfast?! But it’s breakfast! Breakfast! What _do_ you eat in the morning then?!”

“. . . Nothing?”

“Oh my god. How can you be so cruel to yourself?!” The taller demands, placing his hands on Shuuichi’s shoulders, spinning him around and frantically shaking him. “C’mon! We’re going! No ‘if’s, ‘and’s or ‘but’s!”

“W-Wait! I’m not ready!” Shuuichi pulls away from Kaito, making the taller pout just a bit, and rushes to his side table to recover the brooch he was given the day prior. Once he pins it to his uniform, he carefully pockets Akamatsu-san’s hair clip and returns to Kaito’s side.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

At eight o’clock sharp, the doors to the dining hall opened and a number of people started to flow into the room. I greeted them with a smile, handing each one of them one of the brooches Himiko and I collaborated together to create. Some simply accepted the items -- like Ikiko, who immediately pinned it to her breast pocket -- while others -- like Miu, who gave the brooch an odd look before trying to return it to me -- and then there were some cases -- like Angie, who ignored me all together. . . but I refused to take it back so they were simply stuck with it.

For a few moments, people awkwardly stood around, trying to figure out where to sit. And after the last trial I didn't give a rats ass about seating arrangements as people should sit beside their friends or others in need of comfort. Either way, it wasn't long until Gonta came out of the kitchen carrying a platter of variety of cooked eggs, each with a serving of grilled fish. With a kind smile on his face, he approached everyone at the table and inquired what style of eggs did they want. I swiftly entered the kitchen to grab the platter of miso soup and begin making round around the table.

“I don’t quite understand, what is the point of these brooches?” Kiibo questions, lifting a brooch in question up to the light. To the human eye, there’s nothing abnormal about them or really, special at all. But that was part of the design to be frank.

“Protection.” I simply state, taking a bowl of miso soup from the platter I carried and set it down before an occupant at the table. “Until the third party is found and taken care of, as long as you wear that, you’ll be safe from any **Chaos Magic** attempting to influence you.”

“Tenko must inquire if she may have an extra!” Tenko suddenly exclaims, cutting Kiibo off before he could say anything. Pausing my steps, I blink before placing her serving of miso before her.

“Uh, having two won’t increase the effect.” I confess, confused by her intentions. She raises a hand as if she’s ready to prepare a strike.

“No!” She booms. “Tenko wishes to attach her brooch to her ribbons but it would look odd with only one!”

“Oh, that sounds cute actually. . . Lemme finish passing out these misos all I’ll help you with that.” Tenko’s face lit up and her eyes sparkled with glee. God. She is so gay. . .

“But, how do I wear that exactly. . .?” Kiibo’s sad voice brings my attention back to him and I find that his expression is slightly downtrodden.

“I mean, my plan was to offer a decal paint job?” I offer with a shrug. “But we aren’t exactly close enough for that kind of stuff, so I wasn't sure how that would pan out. . . So, I thought a magnet is the best option. I made sure it wouldn’t cause any damage to you when used.”

“Are you certain it won't do any damage?” Kiibo timidly asks once more.

“Absolutely. They worked for my sisters-in-law.” I inform him with a smile but to my surprise, he lets out a gasp.

“That’s robophobic!” Kiibo suddenly exclaims, pointing a finger at me while his face was screwed into the utmost fury. “Assuming because methods work on humans to work on an android as myself!”

“When did I say they were human?” I deadpan. Okay. So, there’s no physically possible way he would have know about _that_ but jumping to robophobia was completely unnecessary in my opinion. Kiibo’s eyes grow wide, he lifts his arms up in shock as sweat rolls down his face.

“H-Huh?”

“The fuck you mean they aint human?!” Miu demands, shaking her fist. As she does so, I notice that she’s currently pinned the brooch to the collar of her fuuku.

“I mean they’re androids.” I shrug. “It’s not that hard to infer.”

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“A-Androids?!” Kiibo gasps. He’s up on his feet, suddenly holding my hand and asking me a million questions at once. “Please tell me all you can! I’ve never seen nor met another android! Where are they now? Who created them? Their purpose? Their functions?”

“Uh, just gimme a moment.” I turn my attention back to the kitchen door with the intention of running the platter back, but Gonta took it from me with a smile, informing me to go ahead and help the others and he’ll run the rice to everyone in the meantime. I thanked him with a smile, turning my attention to Tenko.

Standing behind her, I picked up the brooch she left on the tables surface and pulled another from my purse. Carefully, I loosened one of the white ribbons in her hair, looped the back of the brooch through the ribbon and retied it to firmly hold the brooch in place before repeating the process once more on the other ribbon. “There you go! It really looks cute!” I beam.

“Careful not to lose or break them. . .” Himiko mumbles before picking up the tail of her fish with chopsticks. She pauses as a thought comes to mind. “but I’m not sure if they could be broken if they were enchanted with Kazehaya’s magic?”

“Not likely.”  I state as I take a seat beside Kiibo. I reach into my purse once more, this time to pull out my wallet. It was a nice white clutch wallet with white gold accents and by cheating the system with some Space Magic, I was able to fit more photos in here than anyone would _think_ to be possible. . . and with a little magic I could change my appearance in the photos to keep my secret.

Opening the wallet, I flipped through the numerous clear wallet inserts -- completely oblivious to everyone’s interest in the various photos -- before coming to a stop at a photo of my sisters-in-law cradling my newborn twins in their arms.

One of the women had short blonde hair and blue eyes. On her head was a gold and black headband of sorts with Antikythera mechanisms attached. She was wearing a black military coat dress with gold buttons and a read tie. It wasn’t obvious at first glance that she was of robotic nature but with a closer examination it became clear, the instances of guns at the tips of her fingers helped.

This was another story with the woman sitting beside her; she had long silvery-blue hair tied up in a high ponytail and wearing a white suit, however her forearm were clearly red gauntlets with silver fingers and equipped with very mechanical legs and joints.

Each young woman was focused on the small child cradled in their arms, the blonde’s eyes were full of warmth and love while the other looked both gleeful and excited. I point out the blonde.

“That’s Aigis, she's the final unit of her generation and the project in general.” I explain.

“I see. . .” Kiibo nods. “That explains her appearance. . . Not only is it simpler compared to the other young lady, but she seems a bit more equipped. . ..”

“Also, she married my brother.” His synthetic skin flushes pink and the collar of his robotic body clamps shut around his lower face, the word ‘married?!’ repeating on the screen of the collar in bright pink text.

“Ah. Another robot fucker.” Ouma tactfully comments.

“He was ace.” I sigh.

“‘Was’.” Shinguuji repeats. “I take it that he means he’s passed on?”

“Yeah,” I sigh, playing with a strand of hair. “It’s hard to explain, but I guess I can simply say he was dying but he refused to kick the bucket until he could complete one last promise with us. . . Regardless, I was the one that arranged for his and Aigis’s wedding and I stood in as the witness.” I then point to the other woman in the photo.

“This is Labrys, she was technically the success of the 5th generation units but the jackass scientists working on her decided her emotional trauma was too much to deal with and put her in storage despite the fact the were aiming to create something human so of course emotional trauma was going to happen with the _shit_ they put her through!”

Honestly, the Kirijo group of old can eat my ass.

Just, my entire ass.

“Disgusting!” Kiibo exclaims. “How could they do something so terrible?!”

“If it’s any consolation they’re all gone. Just, the entire old team of the group. When my fiancée’s father took over, he cleared out all those kind of shitty people. . .” I trail off with a sigh. “Labrys has a lot of trauma to cope with but at least she has help now and she’s being treated _much_ better. I can assure you she’s in good hands now.” I pause, this time noticing Ouma took my wallet and was now flipping through the pictures. I raise a brow.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out who’s the husband with the trash dad that assaulted you.” Ouma continues to flips through a number of photos until he reaches a section dedicated to my weddings.

“Man _fuck_ that!” Miu exclaims. She suddenly breaks out into a blush and grins. “I gotta see more of the babies! Babies are absolutely precious!” Oddly, her words are rather genuine. I never would have expected Miu to adore babies or anything given how perverted and crass she was. Nevertheless, Miu attempts to reach across the table to grab the wallet from Ouma but he slides out of his chair and hides under the table.

“Oi! Space dick!” Miu suddenly shrieks turning to the entrance of the dining hall. There stands Kaito and Shuuichi, both looking like deers in headlights. “Get over her and stop this gremlin from running off with your nasty big boob wife’s wallet! He’s gonna steal the pics of ya fuckin babies!”

“B-Babies?! I don’t have any kids!” Kaito exclaims, the loud volume startling Shuuichi beside him just a bit.

“Don’t be stupid Momota-chan,” Ouma chastised. “if you intend to get serious with onee-chan, you gotta raise the kids together with the rest of the clan!!”

“He’s right about that.” I uselessly shrug. But Kaito just stands there with that dumb shocked look on his face, which is slowly turning red. “Are you okay Kai-chii?” I delicately ask but he grows even redder.

“Us having kids together. . .w o w.” He nervous chuckles.

“. . .Did you never take that into account?” Shuuichi slowly questions, almost at a loss that Kaito didn’t realize this when he got together with me. “You were _there_ when she said she had children.”

“I donno! It just. . . It just never registered!” He fumbles.

“Gonta is sure Kazehaya-san and Momota-kun will raise a lovely child together!” Gonta beams and Kaito chokes.

“This is the guy right?” Ouma questions. I look back to him to find him pointing out a picture of . . . the correct person. I simply took the wallet away from him, which makes him pout in return. “Hey! I was looking at that!! You’re so meeeeean oneeee-chaaaaaan!!” Predictably, Ouma breaks into a wave of crocodile tears but I simply pat him on his head.

“I can be as vague as I want but, I’m not gonna single out any of my lovers like that. They have a right to privacy.” Says the gremlin who has plans to sneak around in air vents. That aside, Ouma thankfully concedes with a huff and crosses his arms. However, Miu took this as a perfect opportunity to take my wallet for herself.

“Aaaah, your children. . . ” Miu gasps. A shiver runs down her spine and she hugs herself with my wallet to her chest. “They’re so _precious_ ! Also they clearly have good genes! I mean, besides your big tits, you got a pretty face Kazehaya!” My face exploded in red and my jaw slackened. An actual genuine compliment from Miu. Holy _shit_.

“W-What’s with that look?” Miu mumbles, shyly playing with her hair before suddenly becoming aggressive. “Y-You think it’s weird that I can compliment people sometimes?!”

“No,” I mumble, crossing my arms and glancing away. “I’m sure you can, I mean, you just did. . . Just. . .”

“JUST WHAT KAZETITTIES?!”

“. . .I didn't expect a nice compliment from a pretty girl?” I feebly admit. Now Miu is the one blushing and babbling like an idiot, softly repeating ‘pretty girl’ under her breath. Kaito takes this as an opportunity to take the wallet from her and plop himself down in the empty seat next to me. With one hand, he flips through the photos and stops at the picture of a little girl with gray eyes and curly gray hair up in a ponytail with a white ribbon, hugging a white Shiba Inu.

“Who’s this?”

“That's my first born, Nanako Narukami and the doggo is my loyal friend that promised to follow me to the ends of the multiverse, Koromaru!”

“Hmm? A different surname?” Shinguuji inquires with a hum.

“Yeah, the clan is small now but who knows, it’ll expand in time, so we agreed it would be a better idea for me to keep my surname instead of just hyphenating or changing it and let our respective children inherit their other parent’s surname instead.”

“How about this one?” I return my attention to Kaito. This time he was pointing to a photo of a my darling Nanako cradling her little sister in her arms with a wide smile on her face. The younger girl was pale, much like her sister, but had freckles, vibrant curly red hair and amethyst eyes.

“That’s my little Jomei Kakyoin,” I lean a little closer to him, flipping back to the photos of Aigis and Labrys and point out the baby in the blonde’s arms. “That’s Akane in the arms of Auntie Aigis,” I then point out the baby boy in Labrys’s arms. “And that’s her twin brother, Pharos Mochizuki.”

“Pharos? What kind of name is that. . .?”

“It’s of Greek origin, I believe.” Shinguuji explains. I hardly noticed but, at one point, Shinguuji got up and was curiously looking over shoulders to gaze upon the photos. “It’s an odd choice, if I may. After all, it’s not a name of a person, but rather a place.”

“Pharos, full title being Pharos of Alexandria, is also known as Lighthouse of Alexandria. As the name implies, it’s the name of a large Hellenistic lighthouse built on an island off Alexandria in Egypt in about 280 BC. However, it was destroyed by three earthquakes between 956AD and 132AD and its remains were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay, thankfully it was not lost to history forever, as it was rediscovered by French archaeologists in 1994.

“It's estimated to be over 100 meters tall and was known as the tallest manmade structure in the world for centuries! Because of its architectural and historical wonder, it’s included among the list of the Classic Seven Wonders of the World.

. . .

what

“Ah, did I say too much?”

“No,” I lie. He did. And about a subject that I sure as hell wasn’t talking about. But maybe, on deeper reflection, that blurb makes sense as the original Pharos -- the Pharos my son is named after -- was a ‘light’ that guided my brother to the end of his journey. . . Still, that's a lot of information about a lighthouse. “Do you have an interest in archaeology as well?” He blinks, his eyes darting away for a moment before looking back at me with the most impassive expression his eyes could express.

“No. My dearest sister, however, has an interest in such a branch of research.”

“Oh.” With an awkward pause among the chatter as people ate their breakfast, I flip through the photos to stop at the last one. It was a picture of myself hugging the hell out of a little boy with brown bangs and long red hair that framed his face. The boy’s face was flushed red and he was struggling to escape my loving grasp. Since he knew of my magical background, Kaito could see the elven ears poking out behind the boy's long red strands that framed his face. “Anyway~ This is my last little gremlin for now, Demxl Melody! Since I adopted him on my own, he ended up inheriting my surname!”

“Adopted, huh? He’s not used to affection is he?” Kaito hums, placing his head on top of my own. I smile back, leaning into his shoulder.

“Oh, you two look so happy together.” Ikiko smiles, clasping her hands together.

“A noisy woman for a noisy man.” Maki mutters. Thankfully, there were no more distractions and we could all eat in peace. I didn't quite mind being the center of attention at the moment. Days ago, we witnessed someone die in a horrible way and stumbled upon two dead bodies of our friends. The normalcy we felt before is completely shattered, so, if I could be a distraction -- even for a little while, I would be fine with it.

“Oh! Now that all friends are gathered, Gonta has something to say!” Gonta suddenly exclaims, raising his hand in the air like a child waiting for permission to speak.

“What is it?” Amami questions with a smile.

“Today, Gonta went on a walk to look for bugs but Gonta found some writing on a rock outside!”

“Graffiti on some rocks?” Angie hums, poking her bottom lip with a paintbrush from her arsonal . . . It was the first time she spoke this morning -- to anyone for that matter. I kinda wanted to ignore it, but I’m pretty sure she was sending glares my way the entire morning. . .  “Atua says it’s nothing to worry about!”

“We can't say that without knowing what it says. . .” Shuuichi sighs softly. Angie’s distaste looked much lighter as she took Shuuichi’s response. So, does that mean she has beef with me? Why would she? I never said or did anything to her. What the fuck.

. . .

Wait.

Ah. _FUCK_.

I may have accidentally created a religious turf war. . .

“Well, what did it say?” Kaito demands of Gonta.

“Ah, Gonta believes it said ‘The I Dial is Horse.’.” Seeing everyone’s baffled expressions Gonta scratches the back of his head with an awkward smile.

“‘The I Dial is Horse.’.” Shuuichi repeats. “What does that even mean. . .?”

“It seems. . . . totally and completely unclear.” Shinguuji states in a completely flat tone

“Oh gee. . .” Ikiko sighs, balancing her head in her hand. “I guess not even **Super High School Level Anthropologist** knows. . . I hoped this would be in your field of expertise. . .”

“How about you Saihara?” Kaito asks with an eager grin on his face. “What do your instincts as **Super High School Level Detective** tell you?”

“I . . . I, uh, have no idea actually.” Shuuichi admits with hesitation.

“Hmmm, see, it means nothing.” Angie beams, clasping her hands together.

“Doesn't mean it may not at a later point.” The words come out faster that I could stop myself. What am I doing? Why am I sticking my foot in my mouth? To taste the dirt? _Christ_. I’m not even trying to instigate a fight but it sure as hell feels like it. “I-I mean, there’s more to the school than the three floors we have access to. Maybe more will open up soon a-and maybe we can make sense of those words then!”

“That _would_ be great onee-chan!” Ouma beams. “More places open to us to **commit murder** ~!”

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

With those words, Ouma completely stripped the peaceful air from our entire environment. Then again, was it just his way of reminding us where we are? Even if we have protection against the **Chaos Magic** crawling around campus, it can't protect the wearer if someone tried to kill them. . .

Either way, I place my face in my hands, slowly dragging my fingers down my face with a long deep sigh.

“Why are you all upset?” He inquires tilting his head. “We _are_ in a Killing Game after all. . . And Shirogane-chan’s murder _is_ among us. Shouldn't we be careful?”

. . .

That’s . . . unfortunately true. . . My investigation has gone absolutely nowhere with all the shit I’ve had to deal with.  I’m sure that’s been weighing down on the other’s minds but none of them wanted to deal with it.

“What’s the matter everyone? Was Ouma-kun’s advice not wrong?” Kiibo inquires, looking around the table with confusion.

“. . .In theory, no.” I sigh. “But no one really wants to deal with that shit. . . but he is right that it’s not something we should ignore.”

“. . . I wanna know who killed Shii-chan too. . .” Ikiko softly whispers, folding her hands together.

“And I will figure that out, but in the meantime,” Sending a look in Ouma’s direction, I continue in a firm tone. “we shouldn't try to instigate anything or wind each other up.”

“I can't believe it’s the priestess that understand the severity of our situation.” He mumbles under his breath. I open my mouth to correct him that I’m not a priestess when the dining hall doors swing wide open and . . .

 

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

Oh _CHRIST_.

The bears are fucking in.

“Y3S-Y0U-SH0ULD-4LL-G3T-4L0NG.” Monodam firmly states as he enters the room. Behind him Monophanie and Monokid are pushing a whiteboard . . . with what appears to have a chores list and numerous magnets with the kanjis for our names printed on them. The horizontal row lists the days of the week, while the vertical bar lists a series of chores. “1N-0RD3R-T0-D0-TH4T-1-H4V3-CR34T3D-TH1S- **CH0R3S-B04RD**. C00K1NG-DUTY-1S- L3FT-1N-K4Z3H4Y4S-H4NDS-4ND-3V3RY0N3-W1LL-H4V3-4-SH1FT-T0-W0RK-W1TH-H3R.”

“Even Kiiboy?” Ouma ponders out loud. Kiibo shoots him a look, disgusted by the nickname he chose for him.

“Y3S. 3V3RY0N3-H4S-TH3-C0LL3CT1V3-DUTY-0F-CL34N1NG-TH3-C4MPUS. D0-4-L1TTL3-3V3RY-D4Y- 4ND-1T-W1LL-B3-R34DY-BY-SUND4YS-1NSP3CT10N.”

“An inspection?! Are you serious!?” Kaito exclaims.

“4-CL34N-H0M3-1S-4-H4PPY-H0M3.”

“Angie can agree with that!”

“R3M3MB3R-T0-CH3CK-TH3-WH1T3B04RD-3V3RYD4Y-T0-S33-WH4T-J0B-Y0UV3-4CQU1R3D-F0R-TH3-D4Y. 1F-Y0U-F41L-T0-D0-Y0UR-CH0R3S-Y0U-SH4LL-B3- **PUN1SH3D.** ”

“. . .Is this our motive?” Himiko asks between a yawn.

“N0. 1-D0-N0T-W4NT-4NY-K1LL1NG.” Monodam states this as if its the most obvious thing in the world. Newsflash. It is not. “1-W4NT-Y0U-4LL-T0-B3-FR13NDS.”

sounds fake but okay

 

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT?!” Monokuma screams, suddenly arriving on the scene.

GOD FUCK

P A P A   B E A R   I S   I N

“Well, I suppose it's not _too_ bad.” And he’s calm once more. Christ this fucker. “Chores can be pretty despairing. . . And since the maid _is_ dead we're gonna need some help to keep this place clean.” Monodam does not reply. He just. . . stares at his father with what I can only assume to be discontent

“That stuff aside, what do you want?” Ryouma questions.

“Ah, yes, I wanted to give you **prizes** for surviving the first Class Trial!” Monokuma beams, rubbing the back of his head.

“A reward?” Shuuichi repeats entirely baffled by the concept.

“Yes, now take it away my-” Almost humorously, Monokuma is interrupted by Monodam with a loud: “PR3S3NT1NG-TH3-R3W4RDS.” Each Monokub suddenly whips out an item,

“Listen up bastards! Here are yer rewards, the **‘I-Really-Dont-Get-It Mystery Items’ set**!” Monosuke exclaims. “‘ **The Dragon Jewel** ’,” Monophanie took that her cue to lift up a rather large spherical cut ruby. “‘ **Yellow Ocarina** ’,” Monosuke lifts up a yellow ocarina that was too big for his little paws. “‘ **Safe Driving Ema** ’” Monokid reveals an ema plaque with kanji carved into it, requesting for safe trips to and fro. “and ‘ **Hexagonal Crank that Looks Like You'd Use It in a Zombie Game** ’.” Monodam lifts up the last item. . . wait. . . _what the fuck was that last one again_.

. . .

Its. . . exactly what’s on the tin. A hexagonal crank you’d find in a zombie video game. . . Jesus Christ.

“These are the most bullshit prizes I’ve ever seen!” Monokid hollars, tossing the wooden ema towards Shuuichi. Shuuichi gasps and attempts to catch the item, juggling it a bit before he could get a proper grasp on it. His flailing seemed to entertain the cub as he took the other assorted prizes and tossed them his way.

“Oooh! Nice job!” Monophanie beams, clapping her paws together at his success in grabbing all the prizes and preventing them from smashing against the floor. After a moment of thought, Monodam clapped as well.

“3XC3LL3NT-H4NDL1NG. 1-H0P3-Y0U-4ND-K4Z3H4Y4-L34D-Y0UR-CL4SSM4T3S-W3LL.”

“Why would you wish them _that_?” Monokuma questions, giving his son a sharp look. “He’s a useless coward and she’s a dumbass.”

“Fuck you too.” I mutter under my breath, crossing my arms.

“B3C4US3-H0P3-N3V3R-TRULY-D13S. 1T-C4N-B3-SM0TH3R3D-0R-B34T3N-D0WN-BUT-N3V3R- D3STR0Y3D-4S-1T-1S-4-UN1V3RS4L-C0NST4NT-T13D-T0-TH3-S0ULS-0F-TH0S3-WH0-L1V3.”

“THAT'S BLASPHEMY!! NO SON OF MINE WILL SPEAK THAT GARBAGE AS LONG AS I LIVE!!!” Monokuma furiously screams. Monodam does the equivalent of a shrug which causes Monokuma to gasp and fall over in defeat. “Betrayed by my own son. . . how could this be. . .?” And with that, the bears vanish from the scene, leaving us with their garbage rewards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter introduces aphrodite's lessons!! 
> 
> it's to explain how the council works, i didnt want to just info dump this so i thought it would be neat to introduce it in a way similar to Monokuma's Theater
> 
> as hinted before, or outright stated i guess, this IS a crossover and the council is formed of various people from various pieces of media or based off figures from various histories/mythos


	16. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {03}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whats up everybody, this is mina and its time to explore the school
> 
> lets do this shit

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

“. . . What exactly do we do with the junk they gave us?” Maki questions.

“We return the magic items to where they belong.” Of course Himiko states this as some obvious shit we should have known from the start.

“Oh! Do you have an idea Yumeno-san?!” Tenko excitedly asks.

“. . .Not enough Mana to figure out the exact locations.” I can't tell if she genuinely has no idea or what.

“Well then, it’s probably a good idea to split up.” Ouma beams. He climbs out from under the table to stand at Shuuichi’s side and attempts to extract an item from his grasp.

“I-I don't think that’s a good idea Ouma-kun.” Shuuichi mumbles, trying to avoid Ouma’s grabby hands. Ouma pouts before a wicked smile splits across his face. He grabs Shuuichi’s sides, causing his poor victim to let out a loud shrill shriek. “D-Don’t--!”

“Oh my! Saihara-chaaaaaan is tiiiiicklish!” Ouma giggles with glee as he grabs the falling Ocarina before it could hit the ground. I immediately place a hand on Ouma’s head, keeping him in place before he could run off and escape.

“Splitting up is probably easier given the size of the campus,” I begin, prying the ocarina from Ouma’s fingers. “However, not in an every man for himself style. Since there’s fifteen of us, the three on dish duty can stay behind while the rest of us split into groups of six and take two items.”

“The fuck is on dish duty?” Miu demands

“Oooh! It’s Korekiyo, Angie and Ikiko!” Angie beams.

“I suppose we will have to explore another time together.” Shinguuji muses.

“I’m sure we’ll get a nice report on what was found. . .?” Ikiko offers. Now that left us to sort the items and groups. I awkwardly glance back to the ocarina in my hand.

“Uh, I guess I’ll take this. I actually have a piano back at home and played trumpet back in middle school. So, If we find any musical score I can. . . vaguely read them?” I uselessly shrug before glancing over the items in Shuuichi’s grasp once more. “and the Dragon Jewel, I guess.”

“Ah, alright. . .”  He looks to the items in his arms and then back to me to find that I now had Ouma tucked under my arm -- him protesting the entire time.

 

 

 

> _“Unbelievable. How can you treat me, a supreme leader, like this?”_
> 
> _“Because, if I let you go, you’ll most likely steal an item and run off on your own.”_
> 
> _“You got me there.”_

“Just give the jewel to Amami. I’ll take him, Gonta, Miu, Maki and Ouma with me. We’ll begin our search on the second floor too by the way.” Shuuichi did as I requested and Amami thanked him with a smile. Still, he looks terrified by the very thought that he was now given responsibilities. I can only give him an awkward smile before Kaito leans over to press a kiss to my cheek, telling me to take care and I returned the gesture.

[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

“You goddamn heterosexuals. . .” Ouma mumbles under his breath.

“We’ve already discussed this,” I say with a deep sigh. “I am not a heterosexual.” With that said, I take my leave from the dining hall with Amami at my side and both Gonta and Maki on my heels. Miu scrambles to follow after us, apparently in shock

“W-What. . .? Y-You’re not?” Miu questions, which is followed by a yelp as she trips over a step of the stairs. Maki thankfully catches her by the wrist and effortlessly hoists her back to her feet. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Maki firmly states. “Discuss that at another time, we have a responsibility at the moment.” Miu fumbles with her words for a moment and just as shes about to deliver a line to Maki, a sharp look from the brunette silences her.

The second floor didn't exactly look that different from the rest of the school -- windows boarded up, the stone floor stained green with the moss and grass and flowers grew from the gaps in the floor. However, tucked in the corner of the hall was a statue of a serpent like dragon with two small clawed limbs on a pedestal.

“That’s very suspicious.” Ouma hums, squinting his eyes.

“Just put the jewel in the eye socket.” Maki commands with a deep sigh. Amami calmly chuckles, assuring her he’s on the job but after one attempt, he realizes that he’s a little too short to reach the dragon’s head. . . but Gonta simply places his large hands on Amami’s waist and lifts him up. Gonta smiles oh so innocently while Amami’s face is a bright red color. . . which brings attention to the light freckles that dust his cheeks.

Oh my god. I never noticed that before. Goddamn. Freckles are such a weakness of mine. It's such cute shit. . .

That aside, Amami slots the red orb into the socket of the dragon and as Gonta lowers him back to his feet, the huge round ruby suddenly lets off a bright light. The light grows brighter and brighter and it’s almost like it’s giving off some kind of energy, causing the stone dragon to crack. More and more cracks appear on the body of the dragon until it explodes, destroying both the pedestal and the wall behind it, thus revealing a long stone hallway.

Ouma finally wiggles out of my grasp, mostly because I let it happen and I know he probably wouldn't get far if I asked Gonta to retrieve him, and his eyes are beaming with delight.

“Woooah! That’s amazing~! Full speed aheaaad~!” And with a grin plastered on his face, Ouma runs down the hall with his arms extended like a child. Gonta chases after him, shouting that’s it's unsafe to run despite the fact he’s running himself. Maki mutters something under her breath as Miu loudly cackles over something. But at my side, Amami softly hums with a thoughtful expression.

“What’s up?”

“. . . The air is strangely stale.”

“That means it’s been untouched for a while, right?”

For a school that was supposedly specifically designed for them to have an untouched wing for a long period of time. . . that seems kinda weird. Then again, the entire campus in general wasn’t complete. . . .the grass was overgrown and rather tall in many patches of grass but the cubs have started to work on maintaining this place. This. . .very huge place. Honestly, I couldn't help but ponder _where_ this campus could possibly be located. There’s no way such a huge place could be built _without_ someone noticing unless it was isolated.

Goddamn. This whole place was a mess.

Pushing my thoughts aside, we made our way down the hall and we soon arrived at a door with a unique look to it, meaning this was **Research Lab**. The door had an odd dark colored frame that reminded me of lace. If I had to hazard a guess, this was most likely Toujou’s lab. . . and Ouma was currently attempting to pick the lock.

“Should we stop him. . .?” Gonta quietly asks -- or attempts to with poor volume control -- pointing to Ouma with an expression that held concern for the smaller male.

“Nah. If this is Toujou-san’s lab, having access to it is kinda important. The warehouse no longer cleaning supplies since she . . . passed away and I donno, maybe we can find tools here.” A beat passes. “God, I hope there’s a washing machine.”

“If there isn’t, I’ll just fucking make one.” Miu grunts.

. . .

Why didn't I think of that before?

“A valid argument.” I concede. We all look back to the door the moment it makes a clicking sound. Laughing a quiet ‘nishishi’, Ouma turns the door knob and pushes the door open . . .

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“WHA’D YOU THINK YOU KIDS ARE DOING?!”

. . .

Monokuma was inside the room.

God _damn_ this bear.

“YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO _KNOCK_ ON THE DOOR! I WOULDA OPENED IT FOR YA!” He continues to shout.

“Why would we do that?” Maki questions. “The Labs are usually unlocked, right?” With that, his pissed expression fades to be replaced with a neutral one as he rubs the back of his head.

“Well, it really depends if the owner is alive or not at the time of the lab’s discovery. . .”

“Why does that matter?” I question.

“Because I said so!” Monokuma hisses. “These places were made to develop the talents of the owner! If they’re dead, there’s no point in preparing and opening it up!”

“But. . . why would you open the door if we knocked if Toujou-san is gone. . .?” Gonta questions.

“Ah, to be honest, this would be the **only exception** to that rule. After that lovely Class Trial, I moved all of the cleaning supplies to this room. It makes more sense to keep it all together, right? Besides, I don't need you all stinking up this place. . . you’re all almost out of clean clothes, _right_?”

. . .No one said anything.

“I figured.” And with that smug comment, Monokuma vanishes.

[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

. . . With Monokuma gone we could finally get a look around the room. It was quite pretty actually but certainly had a victorian air to it, not to mention the furnishing and lighting came from the very era as well. The walls were painted a green hue, white wood trimming on the lower half of the walls and golden candelabras were built into the wall. There were a few windows in the room, all framed with lavish red silks, but were strangely not boarded up.

A few furnishing, such as couches and footrests, resided in the room but what stood out the most was the table in the center of the room. There were six spots at the table, all pre-arranged and prepared for a meal, and four of those seats were occupied with dolls of a lord, lady and their two children. Most likely to represent who Toujou was supposed to serve as a maid.

Ouma grabbed the handle on a white bifold closet door and pushed it back to reveal. . . not a closet at all but some sort of hidden nook filled to the brim with cleaning supplies. Four washing machines stood side by side with a dryer stacked upon each of them, clean white towels stacked on a rack, a pressure washer, vacuums, and a closet filled with liquid cleaners -- such as bleach and scented floor cleaners. Honestly, it was stocked with anything and everything that could be used for cleaning. . .

I guess I could use this room for Gonta’s gentleman lessons. I’m sure Toujou wouldn't mind if she was still around. . .

Leaving the room, we follow the path to a fork in the road -- which gave us a look of the school’s entrance hall below -- and the when the paths connected once more, it lead to another long hallway that emerged in a spacious area. Waiting in this area was another door to someone’s lab and a staircase to the third floor.

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

There was also a giant treasure chest that Monokuma was attempting to open.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I question with a sigh. Monokuma spins around, gasping dramatically and sweating.

“I don't have problems opening boxes! What gave you that idea?!” No one says anything. “Stop looking at me like that! I’m your headmaster! You should be nicer to me!”

“I give respect where it’s due.”

“Well damn, no wonder no one likes you.”

“I’m more well liked than you.”

. . .

why the _hell_ am i arguing with this bear?

Either way, Monokuma seems to be . . . childishly frustrated with my words that he kicks the treasure chest over. This causes the lid to fly open as it topples over and an item rolls out of it. I have no idea what the hell it is but it looks like a flashlight?

“It’s one of those fuckin’ lights!” Miu hollers.

“A **Flashback Light**!” Ouma beams. He skips over to the treasure chest to grab it but Monokuma quickly scoops it up.

“Sorry, that’s a no go.” He teasingly waves it between his paws, amusement on his stupid face. “These Flashback Lights are **no longer necessary**. . . You brats don't have to worry about recovering your memories anymore.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Amami demands, narrowing his eyes.

“All that matters is that _someone_ survives until **The Reckoning**. Personally, I only want to see those with a strong will survive. Weak willed people wont benefit me. Bye-bye~!” And with that said, Monokuma takes his leave yet again, this time vanishing via an air vent by crawling up the wall like some fucking gremlin. I quietly whisper what the fuck under my breath.

[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

“B-Benefit him. . . what’s that supposed to mean. . .?” Miu mumbles, playing with her trembling hands.

“Destroying our self-esteem and lives seem to be his game.” Ouma hums, looking at his nails with a bored expression. “It’s easier to manipulate things to benefit you if others have no will. . . but the real prize is in breaking apart those who are the strongest.” Ouma was given a few odd looks but it wasn't acknowledged. However, as Gonta glances to the side, he realizes the lab belongs to none other than him as the blue door is covered in a white butterfly pattern.

Gonta’s eyes lit up and he excitedly ran into the room, leaving it ajar just a bit to reveal that it contained some greenery and the visible walls were lined small terrariums for insects. My face uncomfortably twitched before sliding away to approach the stairs, leaving Gonta and Amami behind for the moment.

“Didn’t think you would shy away from bugs.” Maki laughs. It’s not a real laugh, more like a mocking jest.

“I got a phobia and Gonta already knows about it. . .”

“A phobia? For someone with so much magic at their fingertips I wouldn't expect that.”

[ **\- Everyone’s Killing Graduation Ceremony -** ](https://youtu.be/2wpfGJJO3NQ)

“It’s not like I _knew_ I had magic for years. . .” I sigh. “It just . . . appeared one day after a traumatic incident. Up until that point I was just a pretty boring kid. Being a wallflower was easier at that point in time, just take the abuse and keep moving on. . . so, it’s fine.”

But that’s a lie.

I’m never _fine_ from that point in life.

I’m always angry about how blind and stupid I was. People I trusted in would constantly stab me in the back and call me horrible names and mock me. . . And I took it with a fucking smile, blaming myself for being a bad friend or something, then when summer came, they were nice to me again. . .

I was a fucking dumbass to keep trusting in them and letting them back in. They probably thought it was fucking hilarious.

Remembering _them_. . . Remembering how they hurt me and pushed me into my depression, anxiety and trust issues. . . it pisses me off. . . but I’m also pissed off about how I failed to realize how bad they fucked me over until I moved away from them and grew older.

So yeah, I understand Ouma’s need to lie to protect himself or why people like Maki need walls around their heart. The world is full of cruel people. . . Their actions -- or lack of -- can leave horrible scars that can never fully recover. Even so. . .

“My godfather nearly went off the deep end . . . but with my magic, the power within my heart and soul, I was able to convey that even if the world sucks. . . there’s still good in it. You can't give up. Not just yet. . . And from that moment, I decided, if I have the power to do good, I want to do all I can. . . and in doing so, I’ve changed as a person.”

“You’re strong. . .” Maki whispers. I lift my head, blinking in confusion. I. . . I was utterly taken back by her words. Maki never really has much to say, unless it’s complaints or grievances, and I don't think I’ve ever heard a nice thing come out of her mouth before.

“I don’t know about that. . .?”  I admit with an awkward laugh as I scratch my cheek. Maki stops walking, causing me to bump into her backside. I fumble out an apology as I watch her clench her fists.

“You are. The way you convey your words, the emotion that they carry, it says enough. You’ve seen the ugly underbelly of society. . . and yet, you still push forward, even if it may look futile. Not. . . Not a lot of people can do that. They end up stagnate and unable to change, trapped in a horrible cycle. . . but _you_ .” She suddenly turns around to look me dead in the eye and points a threaning finger at my face. “ _You_ are strong and I never want to hear you deny that strength you have.”

For a brief moment, I recall Maki’s words we shared back in the tunnel to Despair Death Road. She noted how we were so much alike and yet so different. All these words, they’re not about random people in the world.

It’s was about her. . .

“I don't say things like this often, so, don't make me repeat myself.” She grunts before turning her back on me.

I want. . . .I want to know more about Maki Harukawa. I want to understand her.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-Z30WlBXE)

And so, the search with Shuuichi’s group began on the first floor. Unfortunately, he was doubting himself already and rather certain that it was a mistake to trust him with any responsibilities. . . but, he remembers the promise he made to Akumatsu-san so he tries to force his doubts aside.

Himiko is the first to spot something unusual, a wall at the end of a hallway that had three holes -- two of which were occupied with emas -- and commented: My magic is reacting. So Shuuichi inserted the ema into the empty slot into the wall. To his surprise, the wall rumbled and proceeded to fall apart with a quiet bang.

“How did that. . . ?!”

“Magic.” Himiko whispers wiggling her fingers, a rather silly antic that charmed Tenko once again. Shuuichi uselessly sighs. He still doesn't get this magic stuff, before Kazehaya-san arrived he simply dismissed these antics as Yumeno-san being eccentric but . . . the picture has radically changed since then.

Kazehaya-san has magic without a doubt and by hanging around her, Himiko . . . has changed. It’s not a bad change per say, more knowledge about magic seems to come forth from her and she seems a bit more. . . mature? He can admit he hasn’t seen Himiko _do_ any magic, but -- with Kazehaya-san’s assistance -- they created something of magical nature.

Magic is far more complex than it appears in media. . . A flick of a wand and magic happens. . . but the reality seems is that it’s all categorized by classes and types and can be used in so many interesting ways. Some were more skilled in certain types compared to others or some had no luck or ability to handle a certain kind of magic.

Nonetheless, Shuuichi shakes his head, recalling where he is at the moment. The path presented before them was a long dim stone hallway with lanterns built onto the wall. A turn around the corner revealed a blue door with a white magic circle drawn on it. Himiko furrows her brows.

“My sigil doesn't look like that. . .” She pouts. Himiko opens the door, revealing a room with blue carpets, walls lined with thick red stage curtains, when pulled back reveal a nook that stored a number of contraptions meant to used during a magical show and bookshelves full of books. . .  there was also a boiling cauldron in the center of the room.

“So this is Yumeno-san’s lab!” Tenko excitedly exclaims, looking around.

“Yes, do not touch the text books or the cauldron. . .” She hums. “I donno what’s in it and I need to sort the books. . .”

“Sort the books? Why would you need to do that?” Kiibo inquires.

“Nyah, Kazehaya-san is bad at basic **Black Magic** so I was gonna give her some lessons and these books could help. . .” Himiko hums once more, poking at her bottom lip. “Well, actually, she’s got a good grasp at the four basic elements -- Earth, Wind, Fire and Water -- but it’s the secondary elements that give her problems. . .”

“Secondary?” Kaito raises a brow. “What the hell does that mean?”

“ **Black Magic** branches into two sets, **Lower** \-- also known as Basic -- and **Upper** or Secondary. Now, think of the basic four elements as points on a compass. The secondary elements -- Ice, Crystal, Lightning and Wood -- would be the four intercardinal directions.

Secondary Black Magic is the combination of **two Basic Black Magics** , Water and Wind create Ice, Fire and Air create Lightning, Water and Earth create Wood and Fire and Earth create Crystal . . . Kazehaya-san is not great at **Black Magic** and I think it has something to do with all the **Hope Magic** in her. . .There’s an **inhuman** amount in her. She said she had to get a bunch of **Magic Seals** placed on her to keep the magic from breaking free when she was younger. . . but . . .”

“But. . . ?” Shuuichi cautiously venues.

“ **She broke them all**.” With that said, Himiko simply shrugs as if that didn’t sound troubling at all. “Even weirder. . . It’s ended up threading through her hair rather than escaping from her body all together. . . For so many preventative measures to break on her, I think it proves **Kazehaya-san is the most powerful magical being to exist**.”

“Tenko agrees!” Tenko enthusiastically chimes in. “But despite that power, her heart is full of a great light and an ability to love all life!”

“. . .But why? Why is she so powerful. . .?” Kaito couldn’t help but ask that question.

“Toujou said she had a greater calling. . .” Ryouma muses out loud, rolling his toothpick between his fingers. “I wonder what that calling is. . . ?” Himiko simply shrugs before she begins to shoo them out of her lab, telling them magic is a sacred art and she needs to be alone.

Back out in the halls, Shuuichi had many questions. At this point in time, Kazehaya-san has revealed her true appearance -- a supernaturally beautiful young woman with shimmering hair that matched her starry eyes -- and her genuine name -- a name he’s swore not to reveal to anyone else -- both absolute signs of trust she’s bestowed upon him. But despite the trust she’s displayed, she wouldn’t get detailed about the job that inadvertently caused her to end up tangled in the Killing Game.

If he had to guess it was something personal or laid a heavy burden on her heart. . . . If that was the case, it made sense why she looked pained so often. Sure, she has a lot of things to deal with while being trapped in this Killing Game. . .but that’s not it. There’s something else. Something he’s yet to understand.

“Yo, Saihara!” Kaito’s voice booms, shaking him from his thoughts. “What’s with that look?” His head snaps up, a trail of sweat rolling down the side of his face. He glances around awkwardly before looking at Kaito once more.

“Ah, I’m a tad worried about Kazehaya-san. . .” He admits as Kaito gives him a slap in the back. Shuuichi winces but it goes unnoticed by Kaito as he absorbs Shuuichi’s words.

“You too, huh?”

“R-Right, you two are dating. . .” Why did he say it like that? _Everyone_ knew that. It was blatantly obvious.

Kazehaya-san was a warm and gentle woman, despite the magical oddities around her, he was curious to learn more about her. Meanwhile, Momota-kun was an entirely different ballpark. He was constantly loud and boisterous, greeting everyone with a smile and seeing the best in everyone.

The couple may clash sometimes but it was because they cared for pretty much everyone else but had some different methods but, in the end, they were always pulled towards each other with a smile on their faces.

Maybe that’s why his words came out that way . . .? Because he felt attracted to. . . one of them? Both? Maybe? He’s not entirely sure, mostly because he’s spent so much of his life pushing his emotions and desires to the side since he never once believed they would work out for him.

“Geez,” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “you must really be worried about her to space off again.” Shuuichi’s face flushes red when he realizes he completely spaced out in the middle of a hallway like a fool.

“S-Sorry. . .”

“Don’t worry! We’ll figure something out!” Kaito beams, smashing his fists together. Shuuichi’s cheeks flush at the sight of that smile. God. He really has it bad, doesn't he? Er, well, he kinda hopes he does. Honestly, he’s not sure of his feelings for Akumatsu-san. Maybe he had romantic feelings for her, or maybe they were strong platonic feelings. . . . Whatever they were, he honestly hopes whatever he feels for Kazehaya-san and Momota-kun isnt some sort of rebound from whatever he felt for Akumatsu-san. . .

Neither of them deserve something as insincere as that.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

“Oh! Kazahaya-san!” I lift my head at the sound of Tenko calling out to me. Peering over the railing from my spot on the stairs, I notice her beaming face as she enthusiastically runs over to the foot of the stairs but face falls the moment she notices Ouma on my back. After being so ‘cruelly’ rejected from visiting Maki’s lab, he broke into a wave of crocodile tears and said the only thing that would fix it would be a piggyback ride from me.

And I honestly had _no_ problem with that.

“You . . !  What are you doing to her?!” Tenko furiously demands, raising her fists.

“Gettin’ a piggyback ride?” Ouma casually replies poking at his cheek with a confused expression. He suddenly jumps from my back and runs over to Shuuichi, a great wide grin on his face, and grabs Shuuichi’s hands, intertwining their fingers together. “Saihara-chaaaaan! What did you find?” He questions with an eager sparkle in his eyes.

“O-Ouma-kun. . .” It seems, for a brief moment, Shuuichi’s brain completely shut down. Too surprised by the very fact that Ouma intertwined their fingers and even gave his hands a rather. . . intimate _squeeze_. Shuuichi nervous glances to the side with flushed cheeks. “W-We found Yumeno-san’s lab. . .”

“Aaaaand?”

“No, that’s all in the building. . .” Ouma pulls his hands from Shuuichi and begins to check his nails with a bored expression.

“How dull, I thought you were interesting Saihara-chan. We found allll sorts of labs on the second and third floor!” With a huff, Ouma crosses his arms. “Harukawa-chan is a meanie! She locked us out of her lab! It’s suspicious!”

“Not really.” I sigh “Maybe she wants to make sure everything is in order before letting people in and she has a meticulous way of checking these things. Honestly, it’s not that weird.” Ouma squints his eyes, whispering ‘suspicious’ once more. “Anyway, besides Harukawa-chan’s lab we found Gonta’s -- he and Amami-kun are taking care of properly setting it up -- and Hioshi-kun’s as well. Iruma-chan has taken an interest in the . . . uh, automatic tennis ball shooters. . . And the shower room is modified to look like a prison. So, that’s A Thing.”

“Ah.” Is all Ryouma had to say on that subject before making his way to the stairs. His expression was another story however. It was one of those ‘looks that could kill’ kind of looks. I probably should be concerned about the connection to jail he has but I can’t really will myself to care. Ryouma doesn't seem to have any air of ill intentions about him.

“Oh, and according to Monokuma there’s some rule about the labs? Like, if the owner dies before it’s revealed, the lab is locked . . .”

“By bringing this up, that means you found someone’s. . . So it’s either Shirogane-san or Toujou-san’s. . .” Shuuichi thoughtful comments, stroking his chin.

“It was Toujou-chan’s lab,” I reveal, crossing my arms with a sigh. “However, he said he would make an exception this time since we needed access to all the cleaning supplies and tools stored in there.”

“Oh thank god.” Kaito sighs with relief. “I’m almost out of clean clothes.”

“We all are.” I sigh. “There’s four washers and dryers and fifteen of us. . . So we can probably work something out on the chore board.”

“Fourteen,” Ouma pouts. “Kiiboy doesn't wear clothes!” Kiibo looked like he wanted to object, however, he couldn't seeing as he didn't actually wear clothes at all.

“I’m pretty sure he could if he wanted to.” I mumble, glancing to the floor. Nevertheless, I lift my head and look to everyone with a smile. “Regardless, he’ll need to keep his armor clean, so, he’ll need a time slot anyway. Anyway, since we’re here, let’s find the rest of the places these items go together.”

“Ah! Tenko has an idea of where to go!” Tenko suddenly exclaims. “Every morning and evening Tenko goes for a run around the campus! Tenko has noticed a strange building covered in vines next to the school building.” Off to the side, I note a thoughtful expression on Kaito’s face. It almost looked as if an idea suddenly struck him.

“That sounds interesting.” I smile. Shuuichi nods his head, commenting it’s a good place as any to begin. I blink suddenly recalling something. “Oh, I remembered Monosuke said something about opening a Casino?”

“Perhaps it’s beyond that tall wall northeast of the school?” Kiibo offers. That tall wall. . . I jumped over that wall when I thought someone dangerous was stalking me. . . I don't think the building was complete at the time, but it may be by now. . .

“Let’s go investigate what Tenko pointed out first since it would be the closest.” With murmurs of agreement we begin to make our way to the entrance hall when Ouma proceeds to throw himself onto my back once more and clung to me as tightly as he could. I roll my eyes at his childish antics and let him be.

. . .In retrospect, that probably only encouraged him but fuck it. I don't mind giving piggybacks.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-Z30WlBXE)

As Tenko pointed out, the building in question was connected to the school. It was hard to make out a number of details since it was covered in thick ivy vines that prevented any access to the building, but what was visible was a painted mural of an ocean and dolphins bursting from the waves above the entryway and a giant glass dome roof.

Near the vine covered entrance was a mysterious stone monument that had staffs and musical notes carved into it. I stare at the notes, trying to recall what was what. It’s. . . kinda familiar?

I say kinda because, unfortunately, I was a _shitty_ trumpet player. I only took band in middle school to be close to a guy I thought was my friend but, -- surprise -- he was a fucking toolbag. Reading the music scores -- despite learning how to play a piano years prior to taking a band class -- was a tad complicated and producing enough air to actually play a note was hard for me. The teacher even suggested changing instruments but I was a _stubborn dumbass_ and refused. I basically ended up bullshitting my way through that class and the public performances we were forced to do.

Looking away for the score carved into stone to the ocarina in my hands, I grimaces. I was suddenly a bit too aware that I don’t even know what holes I need to cover to get the note I needed.

“. . . This is gonna take a while.” I mumble.

I’m literally the only hoe now.

No one has any music experience so my shambles mess of intelligence is the only thing that can save us now.

Why the _fuck_ did Monokuma hide a new section of the school behind a fucking musical skill check that he damn well knew none of us had the actual skills for?

Either way, I’m tooting on this ocarina like an idiot for several minute, trying to play the notes according to the score and once I figure out first several notes, Im hit with a sudden realization.

I _know_ this song.

“ _Take a melody,_

 _Simple as can be,_ ”

And I’m not the only one apparently.

[ **\- Eight Melodies { Ocarina Cover } -** ](http://www.songbirdocarina2.com/composer/composer/v2/index.php?songID=2569)

 

“ _Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony._

_Raise your voices,_

_All day long now,_

_Love grows strong now,_

_Sing a melody of Love, oh love._ ”

Knowing this song somehow made playing it much easier and the very fact that _Kaito_ knew this song made the experience a bit more enjoyable. As I performed the song the vines slowly browned and withered away before our eyes, granting us entry to the pool.

“Kiriri! I didn't know you liked MOTHER!” Kaito is grinning with unbridled joy and enthusiasm. Honestly, he looks like he’s ready to explode because he’s so goddamn pleased.

This is kinda amusing although. . .

It’s a very rare instance, with how many worlds that populate the Multiverse, that some worlds can share many of the same media -- games, movies, books, ect. It’s not a harmful anomaly, but it’s one that _still_ manages to baffle the Savior and her Sages.

That aside, the MOTHER series captivated me around the time I became aware of my depression and began to deal with it. It was a humorous and quirky JRPG that was created, most likely, in spite after the creator played Dragon Quest and said he could make a better video game.

The result was a game that’s an affectionate parody of the RPG genre; containing many tasteful musical references -- the third installment literally uses a remix of the Batman theme against a certain enemy -- and emotionally charged but serious plot that still retains a sense of youthful innocence.

The series has a great legacy in Japan, known as ‘one of Japan’s most beloved games’ and has obtained a cult following in America despite its poor release and sales. Hell, the games are so _loved_ in America that when the fandom learned the third installment of the series would not be translated or brought over overseas, the fandom decided they’d make their own professional Fan Translation -- which has been recognized and acknowledged by Nintendo itself.

“I **_LOVE_ ** MOTHER!!” I exclaim, jumping up to my feet and my eyes sparkling with joy. “Shigesato Itoi created such a wonderful series!” With a goofy grin on his face, Kaito wraps an arm around my shoulder and chatters away with me as he leads us both into the building. The entrance lead into a genkan filled with getabakos, all labeled of course, and there’s three doors in this room. There was a door on the upper left wall, another directly across it on the right wall, each labeled with a sign to indicate which gender was assigned to use said locker room but the door directly ahead from the entrance leads to the pool itself.

Stepping through the door, I couldn't help but look around in awe. Surprisingly the pool looked like it belonged to a luxury resort or something instead of a school campus/jail. Jesus. This was a really nice looking place.

The deck was spotless and composed of tanned bricks and the ceiling was held up with tall pillars that has vines wrapped around and decorated with tropical flowers. Numerous lounge chairs surrounded the pool for students to lounge around on and a series of diving boards were installed. Not far off we’re a number of doors leading to a storeroom, a sauna and a hot tub.

Thankfully, the pool -- which I estimate to roughly be 82 feet by 39 feet -- was filled to a reasonable level without it overflowing or being too low.

“God. I hope it’s chlorinated.” I whisper out loud, grimacing at the thought of jumping in a pool that was not properly cared for.

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

Apparently my words were the cue the cubs were waiting for because they _immediately_ appeared the moment I closed my mouth.

“Oh my god.” I groan.

“You can bet your sweet bippy it’s chlorinated.” Monosuke snorts. “We don’t need any of you falling sick and dyin’ on us. If you’re dying it’s by each other's hands.” Monodam is silent but I’m pretty sure he’s giving Monosuke a dirty look at the moment.

“PL34S3-R34D-TH3-RUL3S-P3RT41N1NG-T0-TH3-P00L.” Monodam motions to a laminated and framed poster on a nearby wall. Shuuichi and Kiibo approach the sign in question while Kaito looked to be deep in thought and both Tenko and Ouma loitered about by the pool edge.

“Swimming at night is prohibited?” Shuuichi ponders out loud. Well. That’s fucking lame.

“That’s right! A lot of accidents happen at night!” Monophanie exclaims, her synthetic voice wavering just a bit. “It would be terrible if something awful happened to any of you in an accident like that. . .”

“Y0U-M4Y-V1S1T-TH3-P00L-4T-N1GHT.” Monodam explains, his tone rather strict despite it’s lack of. . . well, tone. “H0W3V3R-T0UCH1NG-TH3-W4T3R-1S-STR1CTLY-PR0HIBIT3D. 1-SH4LL-UPD8-Y0UR-M0N0P4DS- W1TH-TH3S3-R3GUL4T10NS.”

**RULE ADDED!**

**#17:** Swimming is prohibited in the pool during nighttime. Touching the water is also against the school rules.

**“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-Z30WlBXE)

And with that message delivered, the cubs vanish once more. I swear to GOD they’re so backwards. They want us to kill but they’re totally against having us swim at night for our _safety_?

“Do you think they have bathing suits around here?” Kaito suddenly asks.

“I guess.” I uselessly shrug. “In the storehouse maybe?”

“I see your plan!” Tenko exclaims, pointing a finger at Kaito’s face. The two of us lean back, a bit surprised by Tenko’s sudden aggressive turn. “You plan on ogling girls in their bathing suits! It’s the closest thing you’ll ever get to seeing a girl in her underwear! You fiend!”

“W-What?!” Kaito flushes. “T-That’s not--!!” He glances my way and immediately flushes. I awkwardly cough, looking off in another direction. “I-I mean, I wouldn’t _mind_ seeing Yuuki in . . . ya know, her _unmentionables_ . . .” I place my hand to my mouth to muffle my laughter as Kaito realizes what he just said. His face flushes a darker color and he starts screaming in a panic. “AS LONG AS SHE WAS **_OKAY_ ** WITH THAT,”

“Y-YOU MENACE! YOU'RE USING HER GIVEN NAME!”

“SH-SHE’S OKAY WITH THAT!” Tenko suddenly looks so shocked and distraught that she falls backwards, into Ouma, and they both end up falling into the pool with what feels like slow motion. A scream rings out, which is immediately drowned out with a splash. What’s happening is not immediate to my brain so I end up staring blankly at the scene before me, it’s not until Tenko accidentally karate chops Ouma on his head, causing him to sink under the surface of the water. . . a distant voice points something rather important out.

“You realize neither of them can swim, right?”

“OH SHIT!” I scream as the severity of the situation sunk in. I hurry to the edge of the pool as Tenko clawed at the edge of the pool, struggling to maintain a grasp in a panic. I hurry over to the edge of the pool, grabbing her by her forearm and wrapping an arm around her torso to hoist her onto the edge of the pool. I try to help her to her feet but her legs to seem to be shaking too much.

“Ouma-kun has not resurfaced. . .” Kiibo wearily notes as I assist Tenko over to one of the lounge chairs.

“T-That _boy_ is just trying to make a scene!” She exclaims, her nails digging into my skin. I give her a dying expression. Yeah, Ouma is a little shit but she fucking karate chopp--

oh fuck

I reel back around to the pool to catch a glimpse of Kaito diving into the water, his slippers kicked to the side with his galaxy print jacket fluttering down on Shuuichi’s head. Shuuichi awkwardly shifts the jacket to drape over his shoulders as he anxiously waits for Kaito to resurface.

It feels like it takes a little too long before Kaito finally does, with Ouma limply laying on his backside. Kaito carefully wades his way through the water to reach the shallow end of the pool and climbs out at the stairs. I quickly order Shuuichi and Kiibo to check storage for some towels as Kaito lays Ouma out on one of the nearby pool recliners.

Just like Tenko he’s soaked to the bone -- his wavy hair is flattened and sticking to his damp skin -- but because he wears white clothes. . . his stupid yellow-and-hot pink striped briefs were very obvious. That’s too goddamn flashy. That aside, it was rather obvious how ill fitting his clothes were. Even though he was a small person, they were still too big for him. Was he eating properly at all? Or was his growth simply stunted and Monokuma didn’t really care to get him better fittings uniforms after preparing something?

. . . Honestly I’m not sure which one I wanted to be the truth.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as I hear some. . . breathing sound? A really _weird_ breathing sound.

Glancing back to the lounge chair I find Ouma’s head tilted back a bit and Kaito’s lips pressed to his in order to provide mouth-to-mouth. He’s about to continue with chest compressions when Ouma suddenly starts to hack and choke, coughing up spittle of chlorinated water on Kaito’s face. Kaito is clearly torn between joy and disgust as he wipes the spit and water from his face but he’s clearly relieved to see that Ouma is now conscious.

Ouma rolls into his side and proceeds to heave, desperately trying to remove whatever water was in his system. I sat on the edge of the chair and gently rub his back in an attempt to help him out, however, he simply flinches.

“Hey, don't worry, It’s fine. . .” I gently assure him. We glance away from him as footsteps speedily approach us. Shuuichi’s stepping falters for a moment as he takes in the sight of Kaito’s dropping and damp hair and how his transparent white shirts stick to his skin, revealing his rippling muscles underneath. The poor boy’s face flushed red.

“. . .What. . . What happened?” Ouma quietly questions, squinting his eyes in confusion at everyone’s worried expressions. Shuuichi suddenly fumbles, passing a towel along to him. That was the moment Ouma realized the state of his clothes. Red rushed to his cheeks and he quickly wrapped himself up in the towel, his small body nearly folding in on himself.

“Chabashira-chan fell into the pool and accidentally knocked you into the water. . . and then accidentally karate chopped you on the head in a panic. We all froze like idiots for a moment before someone pointed out that you obviously couldn't swim.” As I explained the situation to Ouma, Kiibo ran a towel to Tenko and the poor red faced and flustered Shuuichi offered the remaining towel to Kaito, who commented with a grin that his jacket looked great on his sidekick. Shuuichi continued to helplessly blush.

“Why?” He asks in a small voice. I raise a brow but Ouma simply sighs. “You wouldn’t know, since you’re conveniently never around, but I instigate a number of fights.” A devilish smile splits across his face . . . but it doesn't match the confusion or sadness in his eyes. “Wouldn’t it be easier for everyone else if I was gone?”

“Not really, no.” I answer without hesitation. He sticks his tongue out at me and crosses his arms with a huff.

“Of course my _savior_ would say something as meaningless as that.” With a sigh, I pointed to Kaito.

“Actually, he was the only that saved you. Even did mouth-to-mouth.” For a moment, Ouma’s cheeks flushed red before he pressed his fingers to his lips.

“YOU MEAN MOMOTA-KUN STOLE THE VIRGINITY OF MY PURE MAIDEN LIPS?!” I immediately kneel over laughing and slap at my legs at the utterly scandalized tone he put into that exclamation. The line is fucking ridiculous given all that happened was CPR but Jesus CHRIST I couldn't stop laughing like an idiot.

“DON'T SAY SHIT LIKE THAT!!” Kaito’s protests only made Ouma drag the scene out even longer with fake tears and loud distressed wails but he came to a rather abrupt end.

“Okay, I’m bored of that.” With a sudden, and loud, cough all eyes turn away from Ouma and to Tenko, who is nervously playing with her fingers.

“Tenko. . . Tenko would like to apologize.”

“Oh? Apologize? Whatever for?” Tenko’s face falls and she’s clearly struggling not to knock Ouma out right then and there.

“Tenko . . . has a problem. Ever since she was little, Tenko has had too much energy and frequently got overly excited in Tenko’s motions and words. Tenko had no intention of harming Ouma-san, even if he’s a. . . little goblin.” She clearly took a pause as she struggled to find a word other than menace to describe Ouma -- which to be fair could be perfectly applicable for him. Ouma quietly hums, shaking a little from the air and temperature of the water, and looks at nothing in particular -- as if to illustrate that anything else is more that entertaining than listening to Tenko.

“I suppose I _could_ accept your apology.”

“Ah! Tenko is happy to hear--”

“Don’t be rude and interrupt a Supreme Leader!” Ouma exclaims with a rather serious tone. “It’s common conservation courtesy! Geez. . . To think I’d have to tell you, a grown woman this! How shameful!” There wasn’t any genuine disappointment in his voice, but something close to amusement instead. With a grin on his face he brings a finger to his lip. “I’ll forgive your transgression _if_ you carry me back to my room!”

“Tenko will do no such thing!” She snarls.

“But would it not be beneficial if the three of you -- Ouma-kun, Momota-kun and Chabashira-san -- returned to your respective dorm rooms for a warm shower and a change of clothes?” Kiibo inquired, not entirely sure why Tenko was denying Ouma’s simple request.

“Nah, don't worry it.” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll carry him back. . .”

“Are you implying Tenko cannot do it?” She sharply inquires. Kaito jumps a bit and begins to sweat.

“What? No! I never said that! You said you didn’t want to deal with carrying Ouma so I just--!”

“Tenko will deal with it just fine, thank you very much!” With a huff, she lifted Ouma up, slinging him over her shoulder and marched her way to the door. From his position, Ouma sent a wink and a thumbs up to Kaito, who only sighs deeply.

“Ah, Momota-kun,” Shuuichi timidly calls. He pulls Kaito’s coat off his shoulders and offers it back to him when the taller male glances his way. However, instead of taking the coat back, Kaito stares at it. “Momota-kun. . . ? Is something wrong?”

“Actually, can you hold onto it for a bit?” Shuuichi blinks, as if he’s not able to understand the request. “It’s something personal to me and I don't want it to get ruined by the chlorine.” A warm smile splits across Kaito’s face. “Besides, I trust you to take care of it!” Kaito’s grin never fades as he collects his slippers and leaves the pool area altogether, leaving Shuuichi, Kiibo and myself behind.

Well, that was quite a scene. . .

Truthfully, it was weird to hear both Kiibo and Kaito theorize that Ouma didn't want to cause problems and have me witness them, but it’s another thing altogether to have Ouma confirm that theory. . . It kinda thrills me in a way. Like, perhaps he likes me but that directly conflicts with how he had no problems with antagonizing me one-on-one.

Or was that antagonizing attitude a lie? To cover any fear or anger? I can’t really tell as I don’t really understand him as much as I would like to. . . I wonder if I ever will . . .

. . .

Oh. Now that I think about it, now that things have calmed down, I wonder where that voice came from. . . ?

“Hey,” Looking up to one of the rooms that overlooked the pool, I notice that a single window was open to reveal Ryouma glancing down at us. Oh. That’s right. There was a window in the shower room connected to his lab but with the prison vibe the room gave off, I chose to awkwardly slide out instead of giving it an in-depth examination.

“Hey Hoshi-kun!” I greet. “Is Iruma-chan still with you?” If possible, his face sagged and it almost looked like he suddenly aged by ten years out of pure exhaustion. Rolling his toothpick between his fingers, he lets out a deep sigh.

“She completely broke one of the serving machines. Balls are all over the place thanks to her.” His explanation is immediately followed by the sound of Miu cackling in the distance.

“Ah.” I turn back to my remaining companions. “We should get moving, I guess. We only have one last thing to find. . .”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

The estimation that the final new location was beyond the castle like stone wall was a correct assumption, peeking over the wall was the hint of a large building with a dome with a neon sign spelling out ‘CASINO’ and a smaller sign with ‘KUMASUTRA’ written in white on a navy background.

Kumasutra. . .  That sounded vaguely familiar

Nevertheless, the only way pass the wall was through a set of tall wooden doors that was sealed shut and not far off was a hexagon indentation by the door. Shuuichi took the crank, inserting it into the indentation and turned it. The indentation lights up a cyan blue color and begins to turn on it’s own, causing the steel barricade to move to the right.

Now that the door was unlocked, I pushed it open to take in the sight before me. I'm kinda amazed at the changes in this area since I’ve last visited. The path was now surrounded by water and at a certain point it split, one leading in the direction of some structure that mirrored the Arc de Triomphe but the other path lead to that Kamasutra place -- which I could read in full as HOTEL KUMASUTRA.

“Kumasutra. . .” I repeat with curiosity. “What does that mean?”

“Ah, it’s a play on Kama Sutra. . .” Shuuichi mumbles, his cheeks flushing red. I raise a brow, not quite understanding why he’s flustered.

“. . .What’s the ‘Kama Sutra’?”

“It’s. . .  it’s known as a sexual guide in the West.” God. He looked like he wanted to fall into a black hole and implode because he was so embarrassed. It made me feel even more awkward to even ask the question in the first place.

“. . .Oh.”

“Truthfully, the Kama Sutra is more of a Hindu instruction manual for maintaining a perfect marital life. It contains the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, and how and when it is good or bad.” Kiibo explains with a beaming smile on his face. I’m not sure if he understood the implication of the text but he seemed far more proud of the fact he was able to supply us with information.

“. . . So, this is a sex hotel.” I ask in a hushed voice.

“That is . . . the most logical conclusion. . .” Shuuichi reluctantly admits, playing with his bangs in an attempt to find a different subject to discuss. Ignoring the building we awkwardly shuffle along the path to the Casino. We walk past a series of glowing arches to a pair of double red doors.

On the other side is most definitely a casino. I’ve seen enough of them to know.

There was an exchange counter -- to exchange money or Monocoins for Casino Coins -- a prize counter, a series of blackjack tables, a restaurant and a staircase heading downstairs.

“This is a Casino. . .?” Shuuichi softly questions, looking around.

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

God _damn_ bears.

“B34RY-AFT3RN00N.” Monotaro greets. “TH1S-1S-4-G3NU1N3-C4S1N0.”

“Congratulations on surviving.” Monsuke greets, pushing his glasses into place. He approaches us, handing each of us a plastic card with CASINO written in gold on a red-and-black diamond background. “Y’all are the first three to visit. Here’s the deal, everyone gets an Casino Card and you can load your Monocoins onto it at the Exchange Counter.”

“The machines will be throwing coins at your feet!” Monophanie beams. “Then, you can exchange them at the prize counter for fabulous prizes!!” And so, the cubs vanish once more. Except Monosuke, he waddles over to the Exchange counter and takes a seat inside the booth.

 [ **\- DANVEGAS -** ](https://youtu.be/4XLB2GAPfxw)

Since I’m here, I decide its a good time as any to do _something_ with the coins I’ve amassed. I honestly have no idea what to do with these things. . .

“So, ya here ta load ya card?” He asks when I approach the counter.

“Yeah, I got like, too many coins?” I explain placing the card on the counter and reaching into my bag to pull out the sack containing 1k of coins. Monosuke squints his eyes, as if he needs to make sure these are legitimate coins despite the fact the bag is clearly unsealed.

“Are these the coins ya got for completing **Despair Death Road**?”

“Y-You did what?!” Shuuichi yelps with shock.

“It’s not much for me,” I explain shrugging my shoulders. “but I was denied access outside the door at the end of the path and given some of these coins.”

“You received a special skin as well.” Monosuke reminds. Not like I forgot. I never bothered to change it to the default color I used beforehand.

“A special skin. . .?” Kiibo repeats, completely baffled by the concept.

“For ya Monopads!” Monosuke shouts as if Kiibo is a complete idiot. “Ya can change how they look with these skins! Oh! That reminds me, you can even exchange coins for special skins too.”

“Also, what the fuck is up with that hotel?” I question, leaning against the counter to take my Casino Card back.

“Ah, pops said it was specially made for an intimate experience between two people. . .” Monosuke jumps off the stool he was sitting upon and waddles over to the Prize Counter. He then points to a shelf labeled as 10K, but all that rests on the shelf was six golden keys. The design of the key in question was kinda cute, the bow was shaped in a heart with a single smooth oval shaped ruby in the center. “But to gain access to one of the rooms, ya need the fabled ‘ **Key of Love** ’.”

“It’s fucking 10k coins!” I exclaim. “Who the fuck is gonna pay that much money for a key if they can bang in their dorm rooms?” A crude way to word it but it’s not a lie. Who in their right mind would pay 10k coins for a key if they could get intimate in their room instead of some seedy hotel?

“That’s because it’s a **special intimate experience**.” I’m pretty sure he was just trying to sell it but it just. . .

“That sounds fuckin’ creepy. . .” I grimace. I take a moment to push by bangs back and let out a sigh.“Whatever, what are the hours here?”

“We open at 10AM and close at 9PM, an hour before the nighttime announcement. As for the Hotel, since it’s under my supervision, it opens at 11PM and closes at 7AM, an hour before morning announcement.” I simply nod my head before turning to my companions to inform them I intended to play a few games of Blackjack, so whenever they were ready to leave they could come and get me.

They look a bit shocked by my intentions to gamble just a bit but, thankfully, they don't argue and they simply head for the stairs leading to the lower level.

I sit down on a plush red seat, slide my card into the reader attached to the table and punch in a wager of a hundred coins. Nothing happens for the first several moments until a hologram of a card -- the eight of spades -- appeared before me while a seven of clubs appears at the opponent's side.

If I hit, the most I could get is a ten which would give me a total of eighteen. . . Maybe nineteen if I could pull an ace. As long as I don't surpass twenty one I’ll be fine.

“Hit me.” A three of hearts appears before me. That gives me a total of eleven. Pressing my lips into a flat line, I glance to my opponents hand. They pulled a seven of diamonds, giving them a total of fourteen.

“Double.” I demand with a sigh. With my words, a digital screen appeared before, displaying some text.

 

WARNING:

BY DOUBLING YOUR BET,

YOU WILL RECEIVE ONLY ONE MORE CARD FOR THIS HAND

 

CONTINUE?

YES         NO

The possibility of losing two hundred coins didn’t exactly mean much to me. Not when I already had a reasonable amount. . . I mean I’d probably wager less in future games but for the first round? Fuck it. My fingers tap against the ‘YES’ button on the digital screen and I wait for the dealer to send another card my way. An eight of hearts appears before me and a nine of clubs before the dealer.

The table makes a number of loud cheerful ringing sounds and the digital screen begins to display digital confetti raining down on the screen.

 

DEALER VS KAZEHAYA

23 VS 19

 

KAZEHAYA WINS

PAYOUT: 300 COINS

TOTAL ON CARD: 1100 COINS

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the description of the betrayal + bullying kazehaya experienced are actual experiences i had in middle school
> 
> fun times


	17. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {04}

I managed to make much more bank than I intended and I exchanged some coins for prizes just before Shuuichi and Kiibo returned to the surface level. I gave them a wave and we made our way back to the school campus. Given it was about noon we made our way to the dining hall to find that everyone was gathered around the table and shoving whatever they wanted into their faces. Kaito was standing on his feet, his arms spread in the air and loudly shouting about a pool party.

“A pool party?” I question, a brow raised. Kaito turns to me, his grin never leaving for a moment.

“Hell yeah! There’s enough bathing suits and floaties, toys and shit in storage! I’d be a great way to kick back and relax! We could even have a sweet lunch out there!”

“I mean, I guess we could do that.” I hum, alerting the others of our arrival. “I think it sounds kinda fun. . . What about everyone else?”

“Atua says it’s a great idea!” Angie beams, raising her arm in the air before bringing it back down to fold her hands together in a prayer.

“I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to show off my hot bod!” Miu cackles. No one comments on that.

“I cannot swim. . .” Kiibo admits, playing with his fingers. “but I wouldn't mind spending time with everyone.”  With his words a shy smile spreads across his face.

“. . .I suppose.” Amami sighs. Strangely, he seems strangely reluctant to agree. I’m sure he would usually be all for everyone gathering to have fun. . . maybe he can't swim? Nevertheless, everyone else began to pitch their agreements to the idea, which made Kaito’s grin grow wider.

“Great! We can meet at the pool at ten o’clock!”

“Won’t someone need to help Kazehaya-san prepare a lunch. . .?” Shuuichi questions.

“No problem!” Kaito beams. “I’ll help Yuuki!”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“Gonta!” I greet, rushing up to him with a smile on my face. He smiles back, happily clutching the strap of his bug atterium as he turned to greet me.

“Kazehaya-san! Good Afternoon!” The smile left my face as I opened my palm to reveal what I hid inside it. A single brooch in the shape of a ladybug. Gonta’s eyes sparkled and he let out a soft gasp at the sight of the item. My grin grew wider and I lifted it closer to him. “A gift? For Gonta?!” He brings his hands to his mouth and tears bubble in his eyes. “Kazahaya-san. . . ! You have such a kind heart to give Gonta a gift!”

“I saw it at the casino and thought you would like it!” I grin, pumping my fists in the air. “I’m really glad you do like it! Now, why don't we head to Toujou’s lab?”

“Toujou-san’s lab?” Gonta repeats, tilting his head with a cute sense of curiosity. I clasp my hands together and continue to beam.

“Yep! I promised to help you become a gentleman in return for helping me with my phobia!”

“Gonta sees!” With a smile, he offers his arm to me. “Your paw, please!” I immediately burst out laughing at the unexpected phrase. “Huh?! Did Gonta make a mistake?!” I slap at my upper thigh in an attempt to catch my breath and calm down.

“You used the wrong word. . . I’m sorry,” I let out a wheezing sound as I manage to pull myself together. “It was very unexpected.”

“Is that so. . .?”

“Yes. I must apologize, I have a rather terrible sense of humor.” I formally explain, offering my hand to Gonta. “Shall we leave?” Shock briefly flickers over his face as he witnessed me shift gears but a smile quickly settles on his face.

“Gonta understands, Gonta shall lead the way!” That adorable smile continues to persist as he leads us to Toujou’s lab by my hand.

. . .

“How one presents themself is important to establishing if they’re a lady, gentleman or otherwise.” I explain, carefully flipping through my journal. Gonta blinks his bed red eyes in confusion.

“Huh? Is Gonta dressed incorrectly?” He questions, nervously looking down at his clothes and awkwardly patting them down with his large hands.

“Just a bit,” I admit with an awkward laugh. “For formal event and, well, when we leave here, you’ll need to wear socks and shoes and maybe leave the terrarium at home? And perhaps a haircut?” Gonta’s eyes grow wide and he looks a bit upset and timid.

“Gonta is very uncertain about that. . .”

“Yeah, I like the long hair too. . .” I admit, cupping my cheek in my palm and sending a smile his way. His cheeks light up, making my smile grow a little wider. “After making it more manageable to deal with, you could tie to back instead but that wasn’t what I was referring to. . .” He blinks, looking a tad confused at what I was getting to. That’s more or less my fault for not clarifying however.

“Eh? It’s not?"

“No, when I said presentation I was referring to how you carry yourself. How one stands, for example, can can give people an idea of their personality. If you slouch people will get the impression you're sloppy or lazy. If you stand _too_ tall you may come off as stiff. Of course it’s important to remember -- **Gonta is Gonta**.”

“Gonta is. . . Gonta?” He seems entirely baffled by my words but I continue to smile.

“No matter what, in your pursuit to be a gentleman, you need to remember who you are!” That baffled yet cute expression does not fade from his face.

“Gonta needs to remember who Gonta is?” He questions poking at is bottom lip. “But how could Gonta forget that?”

“Sometimes people lose sight of who they are, what their goals are and who are the most important people to them in the pursuit of becoming someone else or evolving themselves.” I firmly state, looking right into his eyes. “There is only one Gonta in the world and because of that, if Gonta lost track of who he was, Gonta would be gone forever! So, no matter what steps you take to become a gentleman, never forget who you are, where you come from and _why_ you wanted to become a gentleman in the first place!”

“Gonta sees. . .” Gonta hums as he crosses his arms with a thoughtful expression. “Just like there is only one Kazehaya-san! After everything she’s seen she is still very kind and loving lady!” I smiled back at him, motioning to the table in the room. He politely walked me to the table and pulled a seat for me, once I was seated he gladly took the seat beside me with an eager smile on his face.

. . .

“Oh, Chabashira-chan!” I smile, trotting over to the girl. Tenko pauses in place, frozen between running off and perhaps surprise. I reached into my purse to pull out a neatly folded and bound blue windbreaker with a stripe of green and pair of matching sweatpants. “I won this at the crazy gacha in the school store and I remembered how you mentioned you go on jogs and stuff, I thought this would be better than wearing your uniform and getting it sweaty!” Her eyes widen with surprise and her cheeks flush red as excitedly takes and clutched the workout outfit to her chest.

“Kazehaya-san! This is so sweet of you! Tenko will cherish this gift!”

“Sure,” I smile. A beat passes and I awkwardly scratch my head. “Also, I wanna thank you. . .?” She blinks in confusion, clearly not understanding why I would thank her.

“Huh? Thank Tenko?”

“You. . . Not calling men, menaces is probably hard for you. If I had to guess, it’s ingrained and stuff. . .”

“Yes! Tenko’s teacher taught her that men are terrible beast that take advantage of women! Who knows what sick delusions exist in their minds. . .” Tenko trails off to the end, suddenly looking a bit unsure of herself. Baffled, I can't help but raise a brow at this change. “Tenko. . . But Tenko is not so certain anymore. . .”

“Why is that?” She brings her hand to her chest and she looks like she’s sweating quite a bit.

“Because of Kazehaya-san. . . Tenko has started to doubt her Master’s words. . . and it makes Tenko feel guilty to doubt him. . .”

. . .Wait.

She referred to her Master as ‘him’.

. . .

I think I should bring this up at another time. . .

“. . .Ah, how did I do that. . . ?”

“Does Kazehaya-san remember how Tenko said Tenko’s Neo-Aikido lets her see into the heart’s of others . . . and when Tenko flipped you in the library, Tenko could see your heart.” Nodding my head, she lets out a dreamy sigh as she recalls that certain memory. Hopefully not the moment she flipped me, but the feeling of viewing my heart. “You have so much love for everyone -- men, women and everyone else in need -- but Tenko couldn't understand it. . . Tenko was worried you were tricked into those relationships but all you had was so much genuine love for them!

“Tenko didn’t quite understand. . . but Tenko didn’t want to upset you. . . so Tenko started to refer to the boy by their surnames. . . and it wasn't until Kazehaya-san said her _husband_ had an abusive father did Tenko start to question if men hurt other men too, like they hurt women. . .? Tenko wanted to justify it with . . . maybe the boy _deserved_ it. . .” I furrow my brows in annoyance and Tenko quickly raises a hand and shakes her head before I could make any objection.

“No one _deserves_ abuse! Tenko has comforted and helped many girls realize that! It made Tenko realized that, perhaps. . . maybe her Master was wrong.” She looks rather crestfallen to admit that someone she’s looked up to was perhaps wrong all along.  “Tenko. . . _I_ want to be a better person. . . Thinking about how many boys I may have left suffering . . . simply because they were boys scares me. . .” I blink, not expecting her to drop her quirk like that. . . but it proves how serious she is about this.

“. . .Admitting this is the first step forward to doing something better.” I smile, gently placing a hand on her forearm. “Now that you know something is wrong, you can strive to make changes! Besides, you are a good person Chabashira-chan, perhaps raised differently thus the reason why you thought men were bad for so long. . . Besides, it’s not wrong to be aware of how society is built.”

“Huh?” Tenko blinks, taken aback by what I suggested to her. I take a moment to gather my thoughts before pushing forward.

“Society is, unfortunately, built to benefit males in an insane number of aspects. There’s no way around that. . . It’s unfairly built so a number of men can easily obtain high status and money while women have to struggle to be taken seriously by their male counterparts. And I think it’s important to bring attention to that.

“There are plenty of times a crime, like sexual assault, takes place and the blame is _not_ placed on the culprit, but instead the victim because she chose to dress a certain way. Or, if a man has sex with is wife when she says ‘no’, this is not seen as a crime, but a man just doing some marital duty -- which is bullshit by the way.

“But these acts can be forced upon a man as well, and because society enforces the idea that men are strong and thus cannot be pushed around, no one takes these crimes against them seriously or leaves the victim feeling ashamed. There are others that go off saying shit like ‘man, why you complaining’ or ‘it’s just sex, all guys want that’ while ignoring the very fact everyone has the right to deny such acts if they don't want it.” I was getting way too riled up but equality was something important to me.

I’m so tired to seeing my dad shame himself for crying when he’s upset or having people look at him weirdly when he says my mom is incharge of pretty much every aspect of the house. I’m tired of people looking down on my husbands for doing simple ass things as chores -- cooking and cleaning -- or being the primary caretakers of our children.

There’s nothing wrong with these traits!

“Men have emotions too but society treats them poorly if they act on those emotions, as if it’s demeaning to feel things when its in fact a basic human aspect! They’re human! Just as human as anyone else!” I exclaim shaking my fist at nothing in particular. “Men can be delicate, gentle, loving and caring but women can also be as cruel, manipulative and shitty! These aren't fucking gender exclusive traits! And society is wrong for making people think that’s the truth! The world isnt fucking black and white where someone fits in one category and that’s it!”

I take a moment to catch my breath and I realize what I prattled on about. My cheeks flush and I glance away.

“I’m sorry, I got really into that. . .”

“No. . . your passion is wonderful Kazehaya-san! Perhaps I’ve had tunnel vision for far too long. . . I’ll hold your words to my heart. I hope I can be as open as you one day. . .”

“I’m sure you can.” I smile.

 

* * *

 

That evening Shuuichi helped me make dinner while Kaito loitered in the kitchen -- shooting the breeze over possible lunches we could make together for tomorrow’s event. He was bit of a minor distraction but if my father could manage an entire kitchen for a boarding house or my husbands could cook for our entire clan with distractions, I could manage this.

And thankfully, everything went along as smoothly as it could go. Maki didn't end up showing up for dinner so I ran the food to her lab. I tried to talk to her about the pool party but she simply slammed the door on my face. Still, the night wrapped up without any problems

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

“ _. . . . . . . . . . . . ._ ”

At 10 o’clock sharp, the school regulars TV flickered on, and as usual the view was of the Monokubz’s lounge room where they sat on a couch together. . . but only Monadam was present at the moment.

“ _W3-BR1NG-Y0U-AN-ANN0UNC3M3NT-FR0M-G1FT3D-1NM4T3S-4C4D3MY. . ._ ” 

_“TH3-T1M3-1S-N0W-2000 . . ._ ”

Another long pause follows.

“ _TH3-0TH3RS. . . 4R3-CURR3NTLY-BUSY. . . W1TH-D1STR1BUT10N. . ._ ”

 _Yet_ another long pause follows.

“ _. . . B34RW3LL, 4ND G00DN1GHT._ ”

“That better not be a motive.” I sigh as the TV turns off. . . but it most likely is. We were lucky to get two days without a shit storm happening. . . it would only be a matter of time before the Mastermind took action to screw us over.

[ **\- Moonlight Arpeggio -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1-8_OW39bs)

With yet another sigh, I pulled off my top and let my skirt drop to the floor before punting it across the room with silly sound effects from my mouth. Removing my veil, I pulled on the spare shirt I stole from Kaito and just as I was about to climb into bed, a knock pounded against my door.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

“Whom the _fuck_?” I question, pulling my veil back onto my head.

. . .

Quite the surprise was waiting for me on the other side of the door. . . It was Miu, her long curls tied back into a messy ponytail, wearing a pale pink babydoll -- the transparent pink sheer fabric attached to the bust did nothing to cover her body, it more fluttered around her like a flimsy cape -- and matching pink panties. The panties, bust and  black straps of the babydoll were trimemd with white lace and another layer of sheer pink material.

God.

What the _FUCK_ am I looking at.

“Miu, what the fuck is this?” I tiredly question motioning to her outfit. She nervously fiddles with the sheer fabric, looking rather. . . uncomfortable.

“It’s my pajamas. . . who gives a shit about it. . .?” She mumbles, unable to look me in the eye.

“You, uh, look uncomfortable in them. . .?” I awkwardly reply, not sure what else I should say.  She mumbles something. I raise a brow. She mutters the same phrase again, a bit louder but no clearer. She lets out an annoyed sound.

“It’s all I got okay?!" She seaths. All she has? Why the hell would Monokuma give her only . . .  sexy underwear for bed? That’s so fucking weird, not to mention _fucked up_ if this turned out to be the scenario I think it is. “Look, are you gonna let me in or just let me or let me awkwardly stand around all night. . .” She tugs at the sheer material once more, this time looking rather hesitant and uncertain. “Unless you want me to fuck off. . .?”

“Ah, no, come in. . .” I awkwardly shuffle to the side, opening the door a little wider. She quickly shuffled into my room, looking a bit embarrassed before seating herself on the edge of the bed. She just sits there and I awkwardly glance around the room as I shut the door. The moment the door locks, she flinches slightly before finally glancing my way.

“Can I. . . Can I stay the night. . .?” My face is a blank expression as I take in the words uttered.

Uh. That’s . . . pretty fucking gay. . .

“I know it is!” Miu hisses crossing her arms. Ah fuck. I said something stupid out loud again. I awkwardly scratch the back of my neck, trying to understand her situation. I can’t really understand _why_ Miu would come to me if she wanted to sleep . . . with someone. Then again, she doesn't have a good reputation. . .

Wait. Was she looking for something sexual or. . .?

“Why do you want to stay the night?” Her irritated expression vanishes and presents that shy and submissive part of her personality once more. She anxiously rubs her arm before looking my way once again.

“Ever since the trial, I can’t sleep. . . right. . . It’s like, I keep freezing up. I-I can’t move and I end up hearing things! It’s fucking terrifying. . . I-Is it a curse? I-I-I don't wanna be cursed. . . !” I thoughtfully put a finger to my lip. That kinda sounds familiar but. . .

“I don’t think that’s a curse. I think you’re experiencing sleep paralysis. . . ?”

“Sleep paralysis. . . ?” She repeats with confusion. “W-What’s that. . . ?”

“Um, I’m not a doctor or really knowledgeable about it, but the body kinda freezes the muscles when you go to sleep so you don’t flail and act out your dreams. . . But sleep paralysis is when you’re aware but you can’t move. Seeing and hearing things are are kinda common parts of the experience.”

“W-What the hell. . .” Miu mumbles. “Why would I have that. . .?” I can only uselessly shrug. I only briefly skimmed a Wikipedia article a while back. I don’t think it’s trauma related, which makes its sudden appearance weirder. . . Either way, if it _was_ indeed sleep paralysis, it wouldn’t feel right to leave Miu to deal with it on her own. The very least I could do is help wake her up if I caught her in the middle of an episode and assure her things are fine.

“Alright,” I begin with a sigh. “you can stay.” Her eyes light up and a shaky smile appears on her face. Suddenly she’s flinging herself into my arms, hugging me tightly and looking at me with admiring eyes.

Oh fuck.

My gay ass heart.

And then, Miu awkwardly glances to the side, her cheeks dusted pink. Slowly, cautiously, she pulls one of the straps of her babydoll down. Oh god. What is she doing?! “Y-You’d want compensation . . . Right?” Both straps are down, daintily resetting on her upper arms as her shaking fingers tug at the top of the babydoll as she moves to pull it down. I quickly stop her by pulling the straps back onto her shoulders and letting my eyes dart off in some random direction.

“N-No funny business!” I force myself to blurt out. I place my hands on her shoulders, keep her back at arm length. “I only share my bed with a partner! I am making this exception for the sake of a medical emergency and for your safety and well-being! So you better not take advantage it!”

“I-I wouldn’t!” Miu sputters. She manages to regain her cool, or what shreds of it, and flutters her lashes as she presses her body against mine. I didn't really notice before but. . . she smells like flowers and her body is so soft. . . Did. . . did she purposely doll herself up? “B-But I wouldn’t mind if you _did_ take advantage of me.”

I’m fucking _dying_ here Miu

Holy _shit_.

“NO.” I choke out, pushing her body away from mine once more. “Look you’re a real pretty gal Miu but I can’t do that?” I make several awkward hand movements as I attempt to explain myself without upsetting her. “I mean, you _really_ are pretty but, I can’t take advantage of someone who came to me for help? That’s fucked up man. If we were to do anything intimate, I’d rather we do it because _we_ want to it because _we_ care for each other.”

“Ahhh, ahaha. . . You passed my test. . . !” Miu jerkily pulls away from me with an awkward laugh while avoiding all eye contact with me. She bounds over to the bed and proceeds to flop down on it, at first she poses alluringly on it, as if to entice me, but she quickly gives that up to lay around like a fish on land. Most likely in an attempt to hide her face. . .

Jesus Christ. Did she honestly think she’d have to give her body to me in order to get some comfort? How _deep_ does her superiority inferiority complex go? I . . . I don’t know and I'm not sure I _want_ to know.

“I-I knew you weren’t the type to take advantage and manipulate someone!” The tremble in her voice fades and the usual crude and loud tone began to appear once more. “You’re so fuckin’ soft after all! I had to see _how s_ oft you were!” As stupid as it is, it actually brings me some amount of comfort. I don't mind a soft side to her but, the conditions it usually comes out is not optimal. . . Rolling my eyes, I grab a throw pillow from the nearby couch and throw it at her.

“Go to sleep then.” She mumbles something under her breath, her face is flushed but. . . there’s still a smile on her lips. She quickly crawls under the sheets, clutching the throw pillow to her chest. She’s trembling, as if she’s afraid I’m going to change my mind and kick her out at any moment.

“Hey, it’s fine.” I attempt to reassure her as I climb into the other side of the bed. “I’ll be there for you if you need it.” Her cheeks are as pink as ever and she quickly stuffs her face into the throw pillow before rolling onto her side, facing away from me.

. . .

“H-Hey. . . Kazehaya . . .?” Miu quietly whispers among the darkness. Half asleep, nearly drifting off myself, I softly hum in response. I can feel her trembling beside me as she quietly gulps. “Can you. . . uh, um, hu. . .” her voice trails off leaving us both in the silence. She tugs the sheets closer to her body before letting out a huff. “N-Nah, nevermind. . . It’s fucking stupid. . . ” She mumbles. I tilt my head, staring at her backside. I wait for her to say something else but. . . nothing ever comes.

I’m pretty sure I know what she wants and honestly, I don't mind giving her something as simple as that. I proceed to shift my body onto my side so I was facing her backside and carefully, I wrapped my arms around Miu’s torso and pulled her closer to my body. She let out a quiet squeak as our bodies touch, mumbling something about how embarrassing this is, but she soon relaxes in my embrace and I too drift asleep.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/Hs_QtQkxpFE)

“Alright! You came!” Kaito chuckles as Shuuichi approaches him under the arbor covered in beautiful purple wisterias.

“What. . . .exactly is going on?” Shuuichi questions, awkwardly glancing around. For the life of him, he couldn't understand _why_ Kaito would bother to ask him to meet him outside the dorms after the nighttime announcement. He had a thousand thoughts, most of which did not end well.

“Well, to be honest, when I got into the astronaut program I started a training regiment! But ever since I got here, I haven't been able to keep up with it so my body is all wonky now.” With a beaming smile on his face, he places a hand on his hip and points the other at Shuuichi’s face. “So, _we_ are gonna train together!”

“. . . Excuse me?!” Shuuichi gasps. “Why me?”

“No questions, just remove your jacket!! We’re gonna start with fifty push-ups!” Shuuichi isn't sure of how things ended this way, but Kaito ends up strong arming him into working out. So here he is, doing push-ups in the courtyard in at the middle of night.

_Why is he doing this?_

He’s hardly gotten anywhere and his arms hurt already -- not like he expected it to go well, he doesn't exactly workout or exercise. At all. -- and he’s already sweating like a mess.  He tries to express Kaito that this is so utterly impossible for him, but Kaito only grins as he pushes himself up and says what has to be the most messed up logic he’s ever heard: “The impossible _is_ possible! All you have to do is make it possible!”

 _What the_ **_hell_ ** _kind of logic is that?_

And yet, somehow, he completes the task of fifty push-ups. Exhausted, Shuuichi’s arms give up under him and he falls to the cobblestone ground with a thud. He winces a bit in pain before uselessly flopping onto his backside to gaze upon the stars plotted out on the dome around them. Staring at those false stars, he can't help but think. . .

_This is so stupid._

As he struggles to figure out what could be Kaito’s reasoning for his bizarre actions he’s hardly aware of the other boy laying down beside him until Kaito’s arm bleeds into his vision as he points to the sky. Shuuichi glances his way to catch the big grin on Kaito’s face and the sparkle in his eyes. He quickly looks away, his cheeks flushing red. God. He really can't stop doing that, can he?

“There’s the Big Dipper.” Kaito smiles, pointing to Ursa Major. “Did ya know, the ‘To’ in my name is written with the same kanji for the same for the Big Dipper? It seems to be a running thing for the men in our family!”

“Is that so. . .?”  Kaito hums in response, folding his arms behind his head before he gazes upon the stars once more.

“You know, you did good today.” Shuuichi glances back to Kaito. Kaito is looking right back at him, his expression looking . . . proud for some reason. For the life of him, he can't figure out why. “Yuuki and I are both worried about you, ya know. You're a good kid but, you're obviously doubting yourself. You’ve stopped sharing your opinions and you’re just, going along with the flow.”

“. . . I know.” Shuuichi mumbles, tearing his eyes from Kaito’s to look back at the sky. His hands uneasily clutch at his dress shirt as he struggles to keep his voice steady. “I swore to Akamatsu-san I would move forward. . .but, it’s also so frightening. . . I keep wondering what if things turned out differently. What if she didn’t die. What if. . .”

“You didn't _fail_ anyone!” Kaito exclaims, suddenly sitting upright. Shuuichi flinches just a bit as he wasn't expecting the impassioned voice behind Kaito’s words. He looks back to the other male with confused and shiny eyes. “You did the best you could, the best anyone could in their circumstances. Now, c’mon! Fear is normal, but you can't let your enemy consume you!”

“My. . . .My enemy?”

“That’s right! Your enemy! And you know what? Tonight seals the deal,” Kaito offers his hand to Shuuichi, a serious but friendly grin on his face. “this will be our oath! I’ll help you become stronger so **you can face the truth**!”

“What?” Finally sitting upright himself, Shuuichi gives Kaito a look of utter bewilderment. Kaito’s words make absolutely _no_ sense. How could working out benefit him in anyway besides a stronger body? That’s not going to make his fears suddenly vanish. “I don't think the kind of strength I need is can be gained from working out. . .”

“The brain and body are connected, right? So, in the end, they’re the same thing!” Kaito is grinning like he’s uttered some infallible logic. He’s even giving him a thumbs up as if that’s supposed to assure him. It’s completely ridiculous. . . and yet, a smile spreads across his face. Perhaps he actually needs some weird and nonsensical logic right now.

“. . .Thank you Momota-kun.” Shuuichi smiles. Hesitantly, his hand reaches out, gently touching the palm of Kaito’s hand before grasping it as firmly as he could. His hand is so much bigger, not to mention stronger, but. . . the warmth it gives off and how it snugly fits around his own. . . It gives Shuuichi a feeling of security. “Okay, I'll give it a try.” Shuuichi pauses for a moment before his expression becomes one of determination. “Will you really let me join you? I want to train with you, Momota-kun.”

“Hell yeah, Shuuichi!” Kaito laughs enthusiastically. “You better prepare yourself for tomorrow, 'cause it's gonna be tough!” Once more Shuuichi’s cheeks flush. Sure, Kaito was being friendly about it. . . but calling him by his given name _and_ without an honorific was . . . rather intimate. No one has really done that before. He hopes. . . He hopes he can keep doing that. . .

“. . .Will _you_ take it seriously although?” Shuuichi questions. Kaito freezes in place, his face frozen in that huge grin. . . but Shuuichi can see he’s sweating. Kaito suddenly flops back down, yanking Shuuichi down with him and the taller points to the sky once more.

“Look at the stars Shuuichi.”

For a little while longer, the two of them laid out in the cobblestone and stared at the stars above, never letting go of the other's hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it a surprise im a feminist + for equality  
> no not really
> 
> but my dad has shamed himself for crying and im just  
> hey  
> thats bullshit
> 
> everyones feelings are valid and no one should be shamed for something as simple as expressing youre upset  
> guys having to be nothing but being strong and raw powerhouses of testosterone and anger is bullshit
> 
> and if anyone tells you otherwise  
> vore them  
> that will show them


	18. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {05}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pool time

[ **\- Miss (** ~~ ** ~~M~~ onomi** ~~ **) Aphrodite’s Practice Lesson -** ](https://youtu.be/g9R5mpVVuQ8)

**[** **Aphrodite’s Corner** **]**

Hello again my darling child! It’s time for another lesson!

As we previously reviewed, The Council is composed of many individuals that work together in harmony to supervise the various worlds that create the Multiverse! The Council is composed of three groups, each that have important responsibilities to perform. Not a single one is more important than the other. Should one level fail, the whole order can fall into a collapse!

Today, we shall discuss **The Faiths of Heaven**! With the death of the two **Prime Goddesses** \-- **Dilaria** , _The Mother of Life and the Cosmos_ and **Shizune** , _The Mother of Chaos and Weather_ \-- the process of how to create a soul from scratch was loss to time. In the wake of their loss, two new orders were established to purify the souls of the deceased and thus created the process known as **Reincarnation**.

This process the moment the souls are judged by the **Lords of Death** , whom we shall talk about at another time. It is **Lethe Gamma** , _The Convoy of Forgetfulness and Oblivion_ , that leads the souls from **Hell** to the **Gray Garden** \-- a holy site within the Council Landing where all souls waiting to be reincarnated dwell.

If a soul is judged ‘Pure’, they have immediate access to **Yggdrasil** \-- the greatest holy tree in all of the Multiverse! This holy tree is in the center of the **Gray Garden** and all pure souls remain in the light of **Yggdrasil** to be cleansed and purified as preparation for their new life.

The residents of **Gray Garden** are observed and protected by **Kaguya Omega** , _The Princess of the Bamboo and Protection_ , from any outside forces that threaten the garden or from any souls that may inexplicably go wild.

Souls that have been judged as ‘Impure’ or ‘Cursed’ are left in the hands of **Sugawara Delta** , _The Scholar of Wisdom and Politics_. These souls must complete good deeds by helping the troubled souls of the living as **Guardian Angels** and once their jobs are complete, they can bathe in the light of **Yggdrasil**.

Once the proceed is complete and the soul is ready to enter a new life, they are to visit **Mnemosyne Beta** , _The Clerk of Memories and Records_ , who extracts and records all events from the soul’s past life and archives it in order to preserve those memories.

Now as a blank slate, the soul is then presented to **Alpha Prime** , _The Creator of Genetics and Reason_ , the Master of the Faiths. Pulling from the DNA of a couple that is ready to conceive a child, the Creator chooses what traits the soul shall inherit for their new life and sets them free.

Goodness! It seems we’re out of time!

Until next time my darling!

 

* * *

 

**June 27th; Day 08**

 

* * *

 

For some reason, I woke up earlier than usual the following morning. Opening my eyes I found Miu’s peaceful sleeping face before me. It seems at some point she shifted positions during the night.

. . .

This isn’t so bad. . .; I can’t help but think as I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I manage to pull my arm from under her body without waking her and when I reach for my phone on the nightstand, I notice a small iPad looking object sitting there.

“What the hell is this?” I question flipping it over. On the backside I found the words ‘ **Monokubz Pad** ’ written on it but nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary. . . . As ordinary as an iPad suddenly appearing anyway. Flipping it face up once more, I press the only visible button.

**Maki Harukawa’s Motive Video**

**What Is Your Motive?**

_Back by popular demand, it’s the time for the ‘Motive Video’!_

_Who’s the most important person in your life?_

_And now, without further ado. . ._

_Maki Harukawa, the Super High School Level Assassin. . ._

I immediately press the pad against my pillow to muffle the video as it played out. I quickly look back to Miu but she’s dead asleep, rolled into her backside with her mouth wide open. . . fuckin’ graceful.

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

But fucking _Christ_.

 _Assassin_?

I guess Ouma was right about her locking them out of her lab was suspicious after all. With everyone’s Talent Labs perfectly tailored to their respective skills, it would have been a dead giveaway that she was lying about being a nursery school teacher. Still, it makes sense _why_ she lied about this.

If she was a genuinely ruthless killer, she could have carried out a murder long ago but with the way she spoke about how she was trapped in a hopeless scenario; it was clear to me that she didn’t want to be there. Meaning she didn’t _want_ to be an assassin. . . There has to be a reason behind why she did that. . . . Could it relate to the orphanage she was raised in?

Just like I don't quite understand Ouma, I don’t know the entirety of her situation and why she may have taken such a route, but -- right now -- it doesn't matter. . . I had a vision of her dying. . . Could someone discover her lie about her talent and preemptively killed her in what they perceived to be the ‘right’ thing to do?

If . . . If that’s the case, I need to do something about this motive. It’s still early enough, maybe I could get this swapped out. Something that doesn't expose loved ones or the nature of talents to others.

With that idea in mind, I changed into my clothes as quickly and quietly as I could I change into a fresh set of clothes and exit my dorm room. As I made my way to the dining hall I struggled to string together some sort of excuse that sounded sound enough, even with as a **favor**.

I have no idea if a favor could be exchanged for a new motive. . . but I’ll try. I’ll most certainly try.

Waiting in the halls, outside the dining hall, was Monodam. Like always. I still cannot get a read on him and he’s incredibly unsettling. . . But if I get my word right, he could fix this. . .

“G00D-M0RN1NG-K4Z3H4Y4.” He greets. I extend the Monokubz Pad to him. He blankly stares at it. “4H. TH3-M0T1V3. . . 1F-Y0U-4R3-W0ND3R1NG-WHY-Y0U-D1DN0T-R3C31V3-4-M0T1V3-4B0UT-Y0URS3LF, 1T-IS-B3C4US3-F4TH3R-FR4M3D-1T-TH4T-W4Y.”

“Oh.” Is all I manage to say. To be honest, I didn't really put much thought into _why_ I ended up with Maki’s Motive Video. In retrospect I should have. Wouldn’t it make sense to give me a video that fits accordingly to the history of ‘Yuuki Kazehaya’ I left behind six years ago?

Doing something as simple as that could spur someone to kill the moment they saw their loved ones on the video so they escape to return to their friends and family. . . But the same is also true for the actuality of the situation. As it stands, everyone has memory problems -- even if the Motive Videos were peacefully exchanged -- as soon as someone figured out more about who they are and who was waiting for them, a murder could easily occur.

“Is it possible to use a favor to. . .change the motive?” I bite my lip. To the end, I completely lost any confidence I had. I have no idea if I have limits about my favors. Sure they said anything, but wouldn't a request like this directly interfere with the Mastermind’s plans?

Monodam doesn't respond. He just. . . He’s just staring at me. I had to sell this didn't I? I shuffle through my mind, trying to find the words I formulated before. “B-Because, Kaito put a lot of work into organizing a pool party--”

“4-P00L-P4RTY?”

“Y-Yeah, so we could spend more time together and get along, j-just like you wanted. We were gonna spend the afternoon together, laughing and playing games, and share a special lunch together!” Monodam continues to stare at me, not uttering anything. “A-And if a new motive came out right now, it would ruin the vibe, ya know? No one would want to come out and have fun? A-And, why would you want a motive that uses everyone’s talents and family against them? It just su--”

“0K4Y.” I blink, a bit taken back by his answer. I’m not entirely sure _what_ I was expecting but a simple ‘okay’ was not on that list. However, I’m shaken from my stupor by Monodam pointing a paw at me. “TH3-M0N0KUBS- P4DS-C4NN0T-B3-BR0K3N. S0-Y0ULL-H4V3-T0-K33P-TH3M. 1LL-R3TR31V3-TH3M-4ND-S4F3LY- ST0R3-TH3M-1N-TH3-S4F3-1N-Y0UR-CL0S3T.”

the what in my where

I awkwardly watch Monodam walk off, leaving me to stand in the hall like an idiot but god I hope no one was awake and saw those videos already.

. . .

Why the hell was he waiting outside the dining hall at like 5AM for me?

* * *

 

 

The morning cycle is the same as usual.

Monophanie visited the shrine to change the offerings and visits the small altar I set up for her, which was set up in a small nook in my lab so none of my classmates had to see it. She thankfully understood and didn't even bother to complain, she was just happy to have something to pray to.

Not many others would visit the altar, most likely their attempt to avoid reality or were simply uncomfortable with the concept, but Shuuichi and Kaito visited everyday before heading over to the dining hall. And this morning they both came along to give me a hand in the kitchen. Since Monodam knew about the pool party he graciously allowed Shuuichi to join us in the kitchen and gave us a number of giant bento boxes to properly pack the lunches in, which were much more suitable than the smaller boxes Kaito intended to use.

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

“So Kaito and I organized a menu last night, remember?”

“Y-Yes, I wasn't paying much attention to it although. . .” He admits, glancing to the side. I quietly hum, squinting my eyes as I observe him. He notices this and awkwardly hugs his arm, before glancing away once more. For some reason, he looks like hell. Actually, he’s wincing as he touches his arm despite the fact he’s clearly handling it with care.

“. . .Did you hurt yourself Shuuichi-kun?”

“Ah. . . No, I just. . . .worked out too hard. . .” He quietly admits. The dumb look on my face as I blinked only made Kaito grin and stupidly drape an arm over Shuuichi’s shoulder. He visible winces but Kaito notices nothing. 

“Yep! Me and Shuuichi are going to be workout buddies!” I stare at the two of them. Shuuichi awkwardly fidgeting, unable to look me in the eye, and Kaito grinning with glee. A giggle escapes me and a devilish grin spreads across my face.

“Oh, a first name basis. Oh my. . .” I giggle with amusement as they both flush red with embarrassment. A grin on my face, I turn away from them and pull out a skillet and tamagoyaki pan from under the counter. After placing the skillet on the burner, I remove two of the papers pinned to the board. “It’s fine. Don't worry you two! Anyway, I wrote all of our menu items down and pinned it on the bulletin board.” Once I hand the tamagoyaki pan to Shuuichi, I give him one of the paper and hand the other to Kaito.

“I’ll leave you in charge of the Garden Bento and Kaito will do the Soba Bento.” Pushing my bangs back, a smile splits across my face. “I already prepared a number of things; the appetizers and snacks, the lemonade, the dressings  and vinaigrettes AND the deserts.” Just as I’m about to turn my attention to the skillet, I remember one more thing.  “Oh yeah. The pickled vegetables should be ready by the time you're ready to pack them in your bentos.”

“Damn Kiriri.” Kaito whistles with admiration. “You’re really on the ball today. . . I didn't expect you to get up early to do all of this. . .”

“I didn’t. I just woke up early and decide, fuck it. I’m awake so why not.” It's not entirely a lie. I was awake and there was no point in going back to bed, since when I’m awake -- I’m awake. Besides preparing some of the food beforehand is the smart way to go about this in retrospect.

. . .

[ **\- Hope of Summer -** ](https://youtu.be/j4v2-QTJxto)

When the final bento was complete, Mondam appeared to inform us he set up a small fridge-freezer combo and a table for the food by the pool. It was unnecessary but made it clear he was excited for us to have fun together. The three of us begin transporting the plates of food, drink dispensers and stands, plastic cups and tableware to the table waiting by the pool.

Opening the doors to pool storage, Shuuichi was given the duty to lay out a towel on each recliner while Kaito and I took a rack of bathing suits to the respective bathrooms. Kaitos had a number of swim shirts -- both long and short sleeve -- speedos boardshorts, trunks, jammers a number of vintage one piece suits and male regulated sukumizu.

On the other hand, the rack I was pushing around had a number of one-piece suits, bikinis, microkinis, tankinis and female regulated sukumizus. Shuuichi’s cheeks flushed as he saw the assorted swimwear and he looked down at the floor to save himself from further embarrassment.

In the safety of the locker room, I stared at the microkinis on the rack before yanking them off the hangers and shoving them into my purse. If I didn’t, Miu would certainly put it on and I don’t think my gay heart could handle it. Actually, I’m certain that I couldn’t handle it, gay heart or not. She’s really pretty but I’d definitely have an aneurysm if I saw her in something showing off _more_ skin than what I saw her in last night.

Jesus. Last night. My face flushed red as I clutch my purse to my chest. She wore a pretty babydoll and she looked real pretty in it. My arms wrapped around her body as I held her flushed to my own. God. This probably means she has a decent amount of trust in me if she was willing to spend the night in my dorm?

_Holy SHIT_

A strange sounds escapes me -- like steam bursting from a hot tea kettle -- as I stuff my face against my purse.

“Oi, Kiriri, are you okay in there?” Kaito calls from the other side of the door of the locker room. I jump just a bit before I shout back I’ll be out in a moment.

“ **Ex-Equip, Bathing suit**.” I whisper tugging at my shirt. A swirl of pale blue magic swirls around my torso, legs and feet, when it vanishes all that remains on my body is a white one piece with a skirt made of pale blue translucent fabric, bandages wrapped around my feet and my usual veil on my head. Before exiting the room I take a moment to check the bandages on my feet, making sure they cover the charred black skin on the bottom of my feet.

Finding everything in order I step out into the hall to find Kaito in only a _fucking black speedo_. My face immediately flushes red and I hastily glance away, missing his equally flushed look on his face. He coughs into the his closed fist, awkwardly holding his hand out in my direction.

“Looking pretty gi-” He wheezes before catching his mistake. I quietly giggle as he shouts: PRETTY GOOD! Placing a hand to my mouth, I reach out for his hand and carefully take it with my other one.

“You, uh, look pretty good too. . .” He awkwardly gulps before nodding his head and returning the gesture. Hand in hand, we return to poolside and nearly crash into Shuuichi. The poor boy is flustered beyond belief and as his hand rises up, its clear he wishes he still had his hat to hide his face. He makes a quick excuse to flee, saying he needs change and perhaps hide a bit in order to calm down.

Once I placed my purse to the side, Kaito and myself began to pull a number of pool toys and floaties from storage, leaving some out on the floor in a pile or tossing them into the pool. When I found a huge inflatable ring with handles, an idea came to mind. With a grin on my face, I threw the floaty into the pool and jumped right into it, causing water to splash about.

“Hey!” Kaito whines in protest. I grin in return, laughing as I kick up water in his face with my feet. He turns his head away and lifts his hands in an attempt to shield himself. It was a feeble effort that made me laugh louder. Determined to turn the tides, Kaito dived under the water. My grin never faded as I peered over the edge to search for him or when he flipped the tube over, sending me falling into the water.

I quickly resurface, splashing a wave of water on Kaito with a loud laugh. At this point his hair was damp, the wet strands framing his face and water rolling down his tone chest. Part of me can't believe that this stupid handsome but so kind, enthusiastic and loving young man really is my boyfriend.

God. I really have it bad.

But I soon realized it was a mistake to admire him. Kaito noticed it and with a smug grin spread across his face, he speedily swims up to me, more or less slamming into me in the process. His strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me close to his body, and my back pressed against the edge of the pool. Without thinking about it, my legs wrap around his waist for support and wrap my arms around his neck.

He’s gazing at me with an expression of tender love in his eyes and a smile on his face. My cheeks flush just a bit. It’s so cheesy. Every moment with him, I find myself falling deeper in love and wanting to be with him more and more. A soft smile grows on my face. I lean forward to rest my forehead against his own and he gently titles forward to press a light kiss to his lips.

“Are you happy Yuuki?” I smile, giving him a soft kiss.

“Yeah, I am.” A big pleased and excited grin stretches across his face. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close enough to him that our wet bodies to touch.

“How heterosexual of you two.” Comes Amami’s voice from a distance away. Both Kaito and myself flush red, he lets go of my body but I maintain a tight grasp around his neck, squeezing my limbs around him a little tighter. Standing at the doorway was Shuuichi, Amami and Shinguuji.

Shuuichi, who was glancing to the floor with flushed cheeks, was wearing a pair of black boardshorts and a short sleeve swim shirt with white trimming. Next to him Amami waved to Kaito and myself, a playful grin on his face. For the event he removed all his accessories -- rings, necklace, earrings and bracelets -- a pair of black trunks, a lime green jacket and the hints of black swim shirt was peeking from under it.

Next to Amami was Shinguuji, who -- for whatever reason -- was in his usual uniform but the only thing that was different was the fact his hair was tied up in a ponytail and a normal black face mask. Each to their own I guess?

“My, have we interrupted an intimate moment?” Shinguuji chuckles

“NO!” Kaito shouts, his face flushed red. I decide to let go of Kaito and climb out of the pool. I received a few odd looks as they all realized my veil is still on my head but Amami lets out a chuckle.

“My, did you use magic to secure your veil?” He questions.

“Yeah,” I take a moment to remove the water in my veil using magic and return the water to the pool, splashing the water in Kaito’s face. He lets out a whine of protest and sinks slightly below the water level to blow some bubbles in annoyance. It was completely silly but amusing all the same. I quietly laughed. “Has everyone else arrived too?”

“That would be correct.” Shinguuji nods. “They’re all changing at the moment.” I nod my head and approach a long black bag that was tucked away under one of the lounge chairs. Evaluating the open space by the pool storage to be a safe distance from the pool and equipped with four hooks in the floor, I placed the bag on the floor and unzipped it.

As I expected, inside the bag was a series of telescopic PVC poles, a net with tape to increase the durability, the necessary rope to hang the net and keep the poles standing. In addition, all the necessary supplies to play badminton and volleyball was safely packed in the bag.

As I worked to set up the net Amami arrived at my side, a beaming smile on his face and a hand raised to wave in my direction, in order to assist me. While we worked together, a number of others began to enter the pool area. There was Ryouma in a black and blue jammer, both Ouma and Gonta were wearing the white vintage one pieces swimsuits -- one with black and the other with green stripes respectively -- and Gonta even tied his hair into a messy ponytail.

Gonta’s eyes sparkled with delight. He quickly placed his glasses down on an unoccupied seat and proceeds to cannonball right into the pool. . . then does some strange doggy paddle like swim. It was equally silly and cute. As for Ouma, he grabbed a floaty ring and jumped into the pool with it. He clutched tightly to the floaty and floated within the shallow end. It seems despite his challenges with swimming, he was content to play in the water.

“Alola!” Angie greets on her arrival, wearing her usual bikini. Trailing behind her was Tenko and Himiko. Tenko was wearing a blue strapless bikini, the back tied in a knot to keep it in place. Standing beside her was Himiko, wearing a red bikini skirt with a modest top.

Then come Ikiko, wearing a white tankini and bottom, the top decorated with a pale blue floral pattern. . . It made for a stark contrast with the tiny black bikini Miu arrived in. Everyone stares at her, taken surprise by at her choice in swimwear and at the same time, it wasn't a shock at all. It’s Miu.

However, the second she spots me she rushes over to my side, pressing her body against mine. In this moment, I cursed the fact she was taller than me. Only a bit. But it was still two inches of extra skin touching my body.

“Hey, how are you?” I manage to spit out

“Fuckin’ disappointed to wake up and see you fuckin’ abandoned me alone in bed, slut!” She fucking shouted that and a number of people look our way. I sigh, placing my head in my hands. With yet another sigh, I drag my hands down my face.

“You make it sound like we were fucking last night, Jesus Christ.”

“W-What? Is that a bad thing?” She feebly mumbles, playing with her hair. My face explodes with red and I’m fucking choking. How can she say these things?

“Given how she goes on about her ‘gay heart’ I’d think not.” Amami points out. I suddenly wheeze, choking on air. I lift a hand to slap at his chest. His laughter abruptly stops as he fligs my arm from his chest and his face is flushed red. It’s kinda odd but I suppose he has a sensitive chest. . .?

“It gives everyone the wrong idea!” I sigh. “I mean, I already told you. I don't know you that well enough for stuff like that. . . but I excused my usual protocol to make sure you were okay.”

“Okay?” Amami curiously echoes. “Is something the matter?”

“None ya fuckin’ business!” Miu snarls. “The fuck you even doin’ here?! Can't you see this is a private conversation?!”

“. . . I was here first.” Amami deadpans. His exhausted and annoyed expression seems to scare Miu off. She quickly shuffles off, anxiously playing with her hands. Amami glances back my way, his cheeks flushed red. He coughs into a closed fist before looking to me with a smile.

. . . Did. . . Did he get jealous that she interrupted us. . .?

That’s. . . strangely cute? Maybe primarily because he was usually so cool and collected. Oh wow.

  


 “You know,” Amani hums, “We haven’t spoken in awhile since you’ve become loaded with so many responsibilities.”

“Unfortunately,” I chuckle, lifting up my leg to kick the volleyball into the air. “I was accidentally promoted to mom tier. And because of that chore chart I gotta drop everything I’m doing to prepare breakfast and dinner.” With a pleased smile I easily caught the balls it came down. Amani blinks for a moment before smiling pleasantly, he places a hand on the small of my back before guiding me over to an empty lounge chair.

“It’s true, you do work quite a bit for us all, so why don’t you relax?”

“I’m fine,” and yet, I take the seat. Probably because he offered it to me in the first place. “How about you? This might not be the best time to bring this up,” I quietly admit. “But, since found the secret door, has anything been done to deal with it. . .?” Amami frowns, furrowing his brows as he crosses his arms.

“Surprisingly, Monokuma has done nothing to repair the door. He’s left it as is since its discovery.”

“Why the hell would he do that?” I question squinting my eyes. Amami sighs once more, placing his hands on his hips in irritation.

“I have no idea. It honestly doesn't make much sense. With the amount of work piled on you at the moment, it makes sense to replace the door now, while you can’t do anything. Still, he hasn’t exactly done anything to stop Iruma-san from trying to reverse-engineer the card reader as I’ve requested of her.”

“Ah, So that’s why she’s been at the library so often.” I muse out loud.

“Yeah, but it’s been no good. She’s been a rather bad mood because of it. I’d figure I’d be an easy job, but if it’s enchanted. . . Well, that’s another story then.”

“Right,” I nod my head and let out a sigh. “I guess I’ll have to slip in some time to investigate that. . .” I awkwardly scratch my cheek and glance Amami’s way once more. He notices this and a smile splits across his face.

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“Oh? Have I captivated you Kazehaya-san?” He practically purrs, curling a finger under my chin to tilt my head upwards. My face explodes in red and I try to glance away. . . but my gaze ends up returning to him once more. He smiles, but it’s no way smug. It’s very soft and gentle. It conflicts with usual appearance -- all the accessories really made him look like a playboy, huh? --  but it really fit his sweet personality. . .

“I-I mean. . . kinda. . .” I mumble. “A lot.” He dumbly blinks, as if he never expected me to say I had an interest in him. . . and his face suddenly blooms red. He withdraws his hand and rubs the back of his head with an awkward laugh.

“Is that so. . .? To be honest, I never thought you’d fall for a plain guy like me!”

“Well, it is true I don't know you that much, but you do seem like a really nice person!” I beam. “Like a big brother that everyone can trust!” For a moment, Amami’s face screws into discomfort before breaking away into a smile . . . but this smile isn't joyful. It’s insecure or perhaps troubled. Honestly. . . he looks a bit pained?

“. . . Amami-kun?”

“Hmm?”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no,” He smiles. “To be honest, I _can't_ understand how you reached the conclusion that I’m a brotherly figure to anyone here. If anything, I’m **Super High School Level Useless Older Brother**.” I blink, leaning back just a bit as I’m taken aback by the harsh insult to himself. I can't imagine Amami as a useless older brother. He’s just too caring for a title like that.

“. . . I doubt _that’s_ your talent. . .” And somehow, that’s the first thing that comes out of my mouth. What the fuck. I should be saying something much more comforting than that. . . but he’s still smiling with what appears to be relief. Clearly, this isn't a topic he wants to get into detail with.

“You think so? Do you have any ideas?” There’s a certain amount of curiosity to his words. I’m a bit surprised that he’s really interested in my take on the situation.

“Well, you’re very smart and really good at analyzing things and noticing small details. **Super High School Level Analyst** , perhaps?” I offer. Amami hums, tucking his hands into the front pocket of his jacket. 

“No, that doesn't feel right. . .” He sighs, shaking his head. I hum once more, bringing a finger to my lip as I think. Climbing. I remember Amami climbed that wall to the Casino area without even getting winded. Nothing seems to get him winded now that I think about it. No matter what distance we crossed during the investigation for the trial, he was never out of breath.

But what kind of talent requires both climbing and running?

“Obstacle course runner?” I pause. “Is there even a word for that?”

“That. . .” Amami sighs, placing his hands on his hips. “I think Runner would be the best term, but, no. That doesn't feel right either. Obstacle sounds. . . important although.” Another hum escapes me, this time long and deep. Physically fit and dealing with some obstacle -- and by extension, he clearly has a goal in mind.

“I donno,” I admit. “I think I got an idea but I donno enough about you to know for sure.” A smile stretches across my his face before he takes a seat beside me on the lounge chair.

“I’d be glad to share some information with you, but. . .” There’s a mischievous grin on his face. His fingers suddenly rest right over my rapidly beating heart and slowly, they trail up my chest to gently poke at my nose. I blink, confused by his actions but he’s smiling. “I want to know a bit more about you too. I’ll ask you a question, and once you answer it, so will I! Simple enough, right?”

“Sure, as long as I can refuse to answer a question that's too personal or puts us in danger.”

“That's perfectly fine!” He smiles, taking a seat at the edge of the lounge chair across from me. “How about something simple, like hobbies?” For a moment, my brain blanked. For some reason, when discussing hobbies my brain always shuts down. It’s so stupid. I have rather simple hobbies so it’s not like I’ve forgotten what I like to do. Jesus Christ. Im such a disaster.

“I, uh, like to play video games, write and. . . art.” Wow. What a flawless delivery. Amami blinks. Are my interests that unexpected . . . ?

“Really?” He awkwardly laughs, rubbing the back of his head. “I was expecting a bit more. . . motherly. I suppose that’s shame on me. You’ve proven yourself to be more than just a mother after all! Still, have you had a chance to perform your hobbies while trapped here?.

“Not really,” I sigh, curling a strand of hair around my finger. “It’s been a crazy time. . . I never really get a chance to relax unless I’m just laying in bed. It can't be helped while we’re waiting for things to settle down. . .” But inevitably, even if things settle down, they’ll only be uprooted once more. As much as I don't want to think about it, death is inevitable in this situation.

“Maybe you should share your responsibilities more.” Amami laughs. “Ah, but my hobby.  I would have to say . . .  traveling. I actually travel around the world on my father’s ship!”

“Around the world?!” I gasp. Given the state of this world at the moment, why the hell would he travel? “Why would you do that?” Amami hums for a moment, thoughtfully tapping his chin.

“Nothing much. I enjoy it and it gives me a chance to give back to my parents by making connections for their trading business.” . . .Something about that was . . . off. . . Like a lie, perhaps? But, why would he lie about that? Maybe the **real reason** behind his traveling was too personal for him. . . “Ah, my turn again.”

Oh. I guess asking him ‘why’ _does_ count as a question. . .

“Let’s see. . . you said you like to write, do you have a favorite genre?” My cheeks flush and I glance to the side.

“Magic and romantic bullshit. . .” I shyly mumble, unable to look him in the eye. Amami laughs but it’s a rather innocent sound.

“I suppose it makes sense you would be interested in fantasy given your connections to magic. . . but you must be a real romantic, huh?”

“Yeah. . . That's me.” I laugh nervously, my cheeks flushing red. “I’ve always loved Shoujo and Mahou Shoujo too. . .” I remember, back in middle school, during my first Book Festival I purchased the very first volume of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and I think that’s the first time I became captivated with the ideals of Mahou Shoujo.

I purchased more and more volumes, falling more and more in love with Arina Tanemura’s work. . . A certain scene from the fourth volume always stuck with me over the years. It was Finn’s explanation of what God can do for the mortals;

_“He can only do three things to help humans.”_

_“One is to create souls. The second is to watch over those souls._

_And finally. .  he can move the Earth’s air.”_

_“God’s breath crosses a sea of stars . . . and is delivered onto the Earth, as wind.”_

_“That is the true Kamikaze. . . The Divine Wind.”_

Although God was . . . well, God. He was not an omnipotent force. He had limits. . . Just like I do. Even with those limits, I always tried to do the best I could by answering the calls of those who reached out to me. Maybe that was one of the reasons I came to love the title bestowed upon me -- **The Kamikaze of Hope** \-- in a way, I was a divine wind that carries the hopes and dreams of humanity upon my back . . .

 

* * *

 

Amami and myself ended up speaking for a while before the subject of family came up. I placed my head against the palm of my hand and crossed my legs before letting out an exaggerated sigh.

“Well, between you and me, my parents are just fine. They run a bed and breakfast out of our house. Mom takes cares of the bills and stuff and she also works at a local high school. Dad is in charge of cooking meals and cleaning. Me, my siblings and some of my partners help with cleaning too, like changing the sheets, cleaning the bathrooms and stuff.” 

[ **\- Heartless Journey -** ](https://youtu.be/YhBFIjDybw4)

“Siblings, huh. . .?” I hardly notice that Amami’s voice is distant as I lose myself in my world.

“I have a little brother. He really likes raccoons a lot. I think he’s interested in being a raccoon themed hero.” I laugh just a bit at the memories of my brother’s strange antics but my smiles falters as I think of my younger sister. “Then there’s Sheryl. . . we aren’t exactly on the best terms.” I glance Amami’s way, giving him an awkward pained smile. My free hand comes to rest on my ankle, the nails uncomfortably digging into the skin. I’m sure her reason to dislike me was more than her being petty. I’m sure she knew things about me that she wasn’t supposed to know.

“Actually she hates me. . . To be honest, she’s been a real mess since Lavender went missing.”

She never really complained about me until I openly revealed I had a polyandry relationship -- which happened to be about a year ago when I returned from Inaba with my first born. Around that time, it was roughly three and half years since Lavender vanished. I’ve. . .  I’ve always felt like she knew I wasn't exactly normal and perhaps, _proving_ to her that I was different, was her breaking point.

As for Lavender. . . Lavender was -- _is_ \-- my twin sister. She abruptly went missing one day but nothing was missing from her room nor was there any note. I would later learn that because of the **Crawling Chaos** ’s actions. He would indiscriminately cause tears to appear in time-space and these tears would occasionally take people, shooting them off to some random place in the Multiverse.

Sometimes, they would end up in space. . . aimlessly drifting until they died and by an incredibly slim chance, they could end up on another world. But finding and recovering these missing individuals is almost impossible given the vastness of space itself.  Despite that. . . I’m certain she's out there, somewhere.

“And on a few jobs, I ended up becoming a sister figure to a few people I worked along side and I think of them as my brothers and sisters. . .” I shake my head, clearing my head of any troubling thoughts. “What about you Amami-kun? Do you have siblings?” As the words come out the mouth, I realize my mistake. He called himself the **Super High School Level Useless Older Brother** he clearly was a brother but there’s _obviously_ some bad blood there. His gaze is clearly conflicted, his mouth hanging open just a but no words are coming out of his mouth.

[ **\- Hope of Summer -** ](https://youtu.be/j4v2-QTJxto)

Thankfully, it seems The Council was on his side as that’s the moment something chaotic takes place, tearing our attention away from each other.

As noon finally approached, Kaito laid out the three bentos side by side that he, Shuuichi and myself prepared for lunch. First was the Egg Garden Bento -- containing tamagoyaki sliced into half an inch thick slices, an organic salad, inch thick slices of pickled vegetables and cubes of kabocha squash -- and two glass bottle rest at the left of the box, one containing sesame tamari vinaigrette and homemade dressing in the other.

The Salmon Rice Bento was to the right -- slices of salmon carefully arranged on top of a serving of white rice; kale, lemon and crispy shallots tucked in a node in the bento to season the fish as one wanted, and a serving of shredded carrots.

The final bento was the Chicken + Egg Soba -- long strings of soba and slices of miso roasted chicken took up most of the box. Kale and crispy shallots were tucked tucked into a node so one could season their serving as necessary and a large serving of rice was accompanied with shredded carrots and pickled vegetables

Ouma seemed strangely excited to eat, but given how he’s recently taken to calling Shuuichi ‘beloved’, I’d wager a guess that he’s rather interested in the idea of eating something Shuuichi cooked. However, in his haste he and his inflatable ring bumps into Kiibo, who -- for whatever reason -- was standing at the edge of the pool to inspect it.

His body teeter back and forth before he pulmets towards the water, waves his arms about and letting out a shrill scream. All eyes dart to Kiibo’s sinking body, whose expression was blank with a hint off suffering, and the people in the pool begin to scatter as they half expected to be electrocuted but nothing of the sort happened.

Thank god.

However, Kiibo has sank to the bottom of the pool and he’s clearly having issues resurfacing due to his weight and his lack of swimming skills. The poor robot looked like he resigned himself to this fate of being trapped at the bottom of the pool.

Just as I was about to jump into the water to assist him, Gonta beats me to the punch. He dives right into the water and grabs Kiibo, lifting him up in a bridal carry. Gonta easily wades to the staircase, holding Kiibo above his head the entire time. Gonta approaches the nearest lounge chair that was empty and carefully deposits Kiibo on it. Miu swiftly approaches the pair, she makes an attempt to shove Gonta out of the way but he stands in place, looking a bit confused by her actions.

“MOVE IT BIG DICK!” She snarls. Understanding her intentions, he takes a step to the side. “Get me a fucking towel damnit!”

“That’s not necessary.” I exclaim joining at her side, Amami following behind me. I lift a hand, letting it hover over Kiibo’s body and the water floats to the open palm of my hand, which is promptly tossed back into the pool. Others watch with awe at the scene, even Miu mutters a soft ‘holy shit’ but Miu quickly returns her attention to Kiibo.

It seems she already knows _how_ his body functions as she easily opens the black chassis located where human pecs would be. . . which reveals a smaller, slim and smooth chest made of steel. That too easily pops open, to reveal a illuminated blue core, the size of a fist. Miu lets out a sigh, closing Kiibo up once more.

“Luckily he isn’t _fucking_ waterlogged.” She mutters under her breath. Unfortunately, his eyes showed nothing but the static of a TV. . . and then something suddenly comes out of his mouth.

“What the hell is that?” I ask, pointing. . . to what appears to be a sheet of paper.

“I wanted a picture of the last thing he saw before he did an emergency shut down.” Miu pulls the sheet of paper -- photo, I guess -- out of Kiibo’s mouth. She gives it a shake to help develop and then brings it up to her face to examine it.

. . .

She’s snickering, which explodes into loud laughter that causes spit to fly. Confused, I lean closer to her to see the photo myself.

. . .

. . . . . .

. . .

It’s a picture of Shuuichi’s butt.

A shriek suddenly fills the air and the photo is yanked out of Miu’s hands. It’s Kiibo. He’s standing on the lounge chair, the photo crumpled up in his hands and his pale face is brightly colored with the LED lights under his the synthetic skin of his cheeks.

“I-IRUMA-SAN! WHY ARE YOU USING MY CAMERA FUNCTION WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!”

“Because you fucking shut your ass down! Water doesn't hurt you! Clearly something else shut you down! And it’s a fucking BUTTSHOT.”

“TH-THAT'S INAPPROPRIATE IRUMA-SAN!!”

“Wooooow! Kiibo was looking at some butts?!” Ouma gasps, slapping his hands on his cheeks and thus causing the inner tube to fall at his feet. “And it’s not meeeee?!” Everyone is shooting a thousand questions in Kiibo’s direction, wondering who the lucky person that he ended up stared at and then suffered a blackout from. The poor robot did not answer a single question as, as he was too flustered to confess, and probably afraid to hear their response. . .

His impressive counter argument to all of this was to shove the photo into his mouth, shredding it to bits. This actually shocked everyone into silence. Kiibo then take a deep breath, lifting a finger and opens his mouth to say something, only to choke. Small pieces of torn paper come out of his mouth, fluttering to the floor. He then kneels over for a moment, choking once more as he tries to empty his body of paper.

It seems despite having both a functional camera and shredder, the kinks on how to remove the scraps of paper was not properly taken care of.

“THAT'S ENOUGH!!” He finally shouts.

Whoever the person was, it was lost of most of us now. . .  But I know what I saw. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snacks: Onigiri + Kabocha Korokke + Vegetable Tempura + Takoyaki + Harumakis
> 
> Lunch:
> 
> Egg Garden Bento
> 
> Tamagoyaki  
> Organic Salad  
> Housemade Dressing  
> Pickled Vegetables  
> Kabocha Squash 
> 
> Salmon Rice Bento
> 
> Oak Smoked Salmon  
> Organic Kale  
> Lemon  
> Crispy Shallot  
> Sesame Tamari Vinaigrette  
> Shredded Carrot  
> White Rice 
> 
> Chicken + Egg Soba Bento
> 
> Miso Roasted Chicken  
> Organic Kale  
> Crispy Shallot  
> Sesame Tamari Vinaigrette  
> Shredded Carrot  
> Pickled Vegetables  
> White Rice 
> 
> Drinks: Lemonade + Water + Sodas
> 
> Desert: Macha Roll Cake + Butter Cookies + Mochi Ice Cream + Brownies + Blondies


	19. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {06}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pool party comes to an end and some serious issues come to light
> 
> This Friday ya'll also get a BONUS chapter, which will reveal the motive. ive been waiting for this

At about two o’clock, the pool party came to a close. A number of people thanked us for the party or simply ran off. While Amami, Kaito, Gonta, Shuuichi and myself helped clean the area Ouma remained in the pool, floating about on an innertube and giving out random instructions or criticism.

Kaito would chew him out but I’m pretty sure that only fueled him. Eventually, Amami used the end of the broom he was using to nudge Ouma and his innertube closer to the stairs. Ouma’s eyes lit up. He jumps onto flat land and scampers off to the locker rooms in the main building.

. . .

But he skids on the wet floor, leading to him stumbling and hitting the floor with a thud. Ouma simply laid on the floor for a while, as if waiting for someone to approach him because the moment Shuuichi kneeled down to help him, he lifted his upper torso upwards to reveal a bloody nose and a cut on the side of his head.

“It’s a lie!!!” He gleefully exclaims with a smile that stretches across his face. We all find ourselves sighing in relief at the very fact he’s okay. . . but also in exasperation about his behavior about the injury.

I approach my purse, pulling out the first aid kit stored in it. It was a gift from one of my seniors due to my unlucky ability to get my ass kicked, even in the most likely of situations. I return to Ouma’s side, where Amami was helping him to his feet but he was giggling with unsteady steps the whole time.

“Oh _God_.” I groan. “You better not have a concussion.”

“Whaaaat? I feel great onee-chan!” I’m pretty sure he slurred his words just a bit and his expression is anything but okay. He honestly looks . . . kinda fucked up.

“Yeah and I’m really a giraffe.” I snort. “C’mon, to the locker room with you. Amami-kun, you too.” Amami blinks, pointing to himself with wonder and confusion.

“Me?”

“He’s pretty clearly concussed and I’m pretty sure he trusts you, or at the very least interested enough that he’d let you into his room without complaint. That way you can wake him at appropriate intervals.”

“You sure know a lot about medical stuff.” Ouma comments, loudly humming. Or ‘hmm’ing. I motion to the main building and Amami got the idea, leading us to herd the shorter in the direction of the boys locker room, where his clothes were stored. Amami leads the boy to a bench in the locker room for Ouma to sit on before stepping aside for a moment. As for Ouma, he swings his legs about and leans back just a bit.

“I’ve fallen down stairs and been stabbed and shot in the past. It’s learn or die when it comes to treating wounds.” I vaguely explain, placing a hand on his back to make sure he doesn't fall off the bench before turning my attention to my First Aid kit. I pull out some wipes, antibiotics, tissues and some bandages, carefully setting each item down on the bench.

To be honest, in my situation, it’s more accurate to say it’s do it right or let the wound heal incorrectly and/or with led embedded in my body. Immortality is great and all but if the wound isn’t properly treated, it heals wrong and that’s honestly a bitch when you have to reopen or re-break something.

“I’ll figure out your secrets,” Ouma slurs, leaning against by body as his eyes shot me a strange expression. It was clearly an attempt at a glare but his pupils were dilated and his eyes were lidded. To be frank, he looked completely silly.

“Sure thing buddy.” I sigh. “C'mon, you need to change out of these wet clothes.”

“And here they are!” Amami beams. He returns to our side, holding Ouma’s folded clothes out to him. Ouma stares at the clothes for a while before walking off, saying he could take care of it all on his own. I wasn’t entirely sure about that but he wasn't complaining about much pain. . . so maybe he could manage that alone.

Luckily, he made it back in one piece in about five minutes. He takes a seat on the bench with a huff, looking a bit more put together but not quite there. Handing him a tissue for his nose, I get to work cleaning up any signs of dry blood on his face and applying antibiotics to the cut on the side of his head before carefully wrapping it up.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

As I do, I notice something out of the corner of my eye. On the skin of his collarbone, just barely peeking out from under the loose collar. . . is a mark. I can't see the quality of it. . . but it’s most certainly in the shape of the symbol of the **Crawling Chaos**.

He must have noticed me staring because he jumped up to his feet and with shaking hands, he tied his checkered scarf around his neck.

“I didn’t know you were a gross _pervert_ Kazehaya-chan.” He chastises. Or attempts. I can hear it. . . a tremble in his voice. So that scarf was for more than show but why. . . Why would Ouma have that on his body?

“S. . . Sorry.” I mumble.  Ouma huffs before waddling out of the room. Amami sends me a concerned look but I can only shrug for the moment. As much as I wanted to question Ouma, doing so while he has a concussion would only cause him more pain and issues in the long run.

. . . Still, I don't think . . . It looked more like a **scar** than a tattoo. . .

If anything, it told me Ouma is in some deep shit.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Ustulate Pathos -** ](https://youtu.be/5RR3Xtn4unY)

I returned to my room, utterly exhausted. I approach my bed and throw myself face down on the comforter. With an exhausted sigh, I pull my veil from my head and let the transparent cloth fall to the floor, allowing me to take on my true appearance.

The act of cleaning didn't exhaust me. . . just the thousands of questions that hounded me about Ouma’s state. Too many questions and not enough answers. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get them given how he acts.

I shift onto my backside to stare at the ceiling, my eyes glaring at nothing in particular.

“Fuck him.” I hiss, slamming my fist down on onto the bed sheets. In doing so my fist collides with something hard. I blink, sitting up just a little. I pull the sheets back to discover a Monokubz Pad peacefully resting. The deal I struck up with Monodam suddenly comes back to mind.

Reaching into my purse, I dig around and thankfully I quickly recover it. The Monokubz Pad containing Maki’s motive. Then. . . the one in my bed had to be the one Miu received . . . but she never saw it. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

Since the pads were delivered last night, they probably saw Miu in the room with me and for convenience sake, they left it in my room as well. . . but given Miu’s submissive personality, she probably quickly fled my room as soon as she could.

After all, if she knew of it. . . wouldn’t she have made a scene about it?

Sighing once more, I make my way to the closet with the two pads in hand. Given how empty my closet has become, and the fact I’m wide awake, it’s easy to locate the aforementioned safe inside my closet. It was a simple black horizontal safe with a silver keypad.

. . .

I have no idea what the code to it is. . .

Given my abnormal strength, I was able to lift it up with general ease and gave it as shake. I could hear numerous things rattle inside. I couldn't quite figure out how many but there was a decent amount. . . .I’m certain Monodam was telling the truth when he said he wanted us to be friends so I’m sure he did as he said he would.

But. . . what would be the new motive? I really hope I made the right choice by using a **favor** and requesting a new motive. . . In the meantime, all I can do is hold onto these videos and hope for the best. . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

“Have you ever heard of the Paleolithic Hoax?” Shinguuji curiously inquires as we prepare dinner that afternoon. I pause my work to give him a confused glance.

“Uh, no, I haven’t.” I state, adding some sliced and thinly cut garlic and onions into the pan waiting on the stove top. I gave an onion a poke before moving it to the center of the pan. Shinguuji chuckled as he chopped the vegetables before him on the cutting board.

“I see. . . In the 1970s, a man by the name of Shinichi Fujimura began work as an amateur archaeologist. He found a number of artifacts, all from the Paleolithic era, in quick succession.

Many of his fellow archaeologists were skeptical of his findings as there was little expectation that stone tools of such an age would be found in Japan. However, his critics were silenced and his reputation as a leading amature archaeologist and an indispensable member of any archeology team was firmly established in the 1980s.”

“How’d his ass get busted?” I question. Shinguuji chuckles once more.

“Well from the start, a small number of professional archaeologists had doubts about Fujimura's finds but this was not widespread, thus allowing Fujimura to continue his fraud. Following this, a number of research papers were released -- One published in 1986 cited a number of geological inconsistencies of the artifacts, at least at the Zazaragi site. In 1990, Michio Okamura published a book on the Paleolithic which debunked the supposed Early Paleolithic culture. Following that, three more papers were published in 1998 and 2000.

The central point of the argument in 2000 was that the problematic paleolithic findings were ‘odd’ compared to other lower and middle paleolithic findings. By this time, Fujimura worked at Touhoku Paleolithic Institute, a private research center, as the deputy director.

His reckoning came at the hands of the Mainichi Shinbun -- a long standing newspaper. They had heard stories of fraud and thus, they decided to install cameras at the digsite Fujimura was working at. And so, they successfully caught him in the act of planting items of historical value at the site. With this evidence, he was confronted and forced to give a confession.”

“Get rekt asshole.” I laughed, adding ground beef to the pan. With a wooden spoon I spread the meat out so it covered  the entirety of the pans bottom for an equal cook time. Soon enough the meat quietly sizzled in the oil that greased the pain.

“Indeed,” Shinguuji chuckles. “The exposé, only concerned two specific dig sites but the confession caused a number of reappraisals to rise at all the sites Fujimura had been involved in. And thus, it was discovered Fujimura's artifacts had been collected from other Jōmon-era sites in the Tōhoku region, and planted at the various sites where he was working at. Further investigation revealed that numerous items found by Fujimura had scrapes and damage, proving his so called ‘discoveries’ were items he dug up before. This also brought to life that many of the items were ‘discovered’ more than once.”

“All’s well that ends well, I guess.” I laugh. Shinguuji adds the chopped vegetables into the meat in the pan. I stir the meat and vegetables on low heat to make sure nothing burn. I add half a cup of beef broth and a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce before turning the heat up to let the broth reach a simmer.

“I suppose that’s one way to put it.” He muses. “It’s unfortunate but Fujimura’s discoveries made the foundation for the lower and middle paleolithic research. People sharply criticized local governments and major archaeological groups that accepted such flawed items for so long. However, this hoax did highlight the shortcomings of Japanese archaeological research into paleolithic sites -- such as an over-reliance on the dating of volcanic ash layers while ignoring other soil layers.”

“I guess they’re way better at detecting fraud now, huh?” Once more Shinguuji chuckles, nodding his head.

“Indeed.” He removes the strainer containing peeled and quartered potatoes from the pot of boiling water that rested on the stovetop. Shinguuji shakes the strainer just a bit to remove the remaining water and then transfers the potatoes to a large silver bowl. “You’re quite diligent when preparing your meals. I’m quite impressed.” He comments, a hint of a smile under his mask.

 

* * *

  

I didn’t go straight to bed once the nighttime announcement aired or when I let Miu into my room. There were too many things on my mind. The scar on Ouma and his head injury. . . and the upcoming motive. . . I was still a bit anxious about what it could possibly be.

I walked around the campus grounds with no real objective or destination in mind and then, I found myself out by the arbor covered in wysterias where Shuuichi and Kaito were doing push-ups on the cobblestone path.

. . . Although it seemed more accurate to say Shuuichi was the one actually trying to do his workout. Kaito moved slowly as if he was taking his sweet time to observe Shuuichi. Maybe that’s why he spotted me first.

“Take five Shuuichi!” Kaito laughs, slapping the smaller male on his back. Shuuichi lets out a wheeze, something between a sound of suffering and a sigh of relief, before allowing his arms collapse under him and hit the floor with a thud. Kaito simply laugh, congratulating Shuuichi on his work thus far. “So, what’s up Kiriri? You look like a zombie.”

“. . . Ouma, I guess.” I admit with a sigh, uneasily clutching my arm. Kaito blink which is followed by him furrowing his brows.

“What, is he harassing you?”

“Huh? No.” I guess I looked way more out of it than I thought because they’re both looking at me with concern. With a sigh, I take a seat on the cobblestone path and the two young men sit up a little taller to show they’re giving me all of their attention. “When I was bandaging Ouma-kun, I saw something. . .”

“Something. . .?” Shuuichi repeats.

“Yeah.” I take a breath, finally allowing all my thoughts to tumble out.

[ **\- Sacrificial Demise -** ](https://youtu.be/X93VRYle0tY)

“A **brand**. It’s in the same shape as the sigil that appeared during Toujou-chan’s. . .”

“Execution.” Kaito reluctantly supplies when I struggle to say the word. Slowly, I nod my head.

“It’s was a cross with an eye, correct?” Shuuichi ponders.

“What the hell does it mean. . .?” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his head.

“It’s the symbol of the one who wishes to kill me.” I sigh. “Or. . . At the very least, imprison me.”

“K-Kill?” Shuuichi gapes.

“But that’s impossible, right? You’re a goddess after all!” Kaito exclaims, worry clear in his tone. I quickly glance away, unable to look at his distressed expression.

“That’s why I said imprison.” I quietly mumble, bringing a hand to play with my hair. “I mean, all he has to do is collect enough **D** **e** **spair** and he could possibly snuff out my light. That is. . . his most likely desired end goal for our impending duel.”

“. . . So Ouma has that bastard’s mark, what does that mean for us? For _you_?” Kaito questions in a rather serious tone. I close my eyes and take a moment to pull myself together. Nothing has been determined yet. Even so, I refuse a future where that bastard wins.

“That depends on the state of the mark.” I firmly state looking back to him and Shuuichi. “First of all, this marking means a number of things. Depending on the ink color, it would mean the person bearing the mark is a direct child of his, a possible bloodline inheritor of his power or a follower of his madness. I’m certain Ouma belongs to the third category because none of my alarms are going off.”

“Wouldn’t that third option imply he’s a cultist?” Shuuichi inquires, sweat trickling down the side of his brow. “How is that okay?”

“Because, if he _was_ branded, the state of the mark would reveal his disposition. If the skin is clean and smooth, it means the person has accepted **Crawling Chaos** ’s morals and ideals.”

“Ah, so if it looks more like a scar, it would mean Ouma-kun _does not_ believe in the **Crawling Chaos** and his ideals. In fact, he would be rejecting them.” Shuuichi theorizes. I nod my head.

“Yes, that would be correct. As chaotic as Ouma-kun is sometimes, I don’t think he has it in him to actually hurt anyone.” I muse out loud, glancing aside for the moment with a thoughtful expression. “But I cannot confirm or deny this unless I see the brand with my own eyes. I suppose our only saving grace is the fact he’s still wearing my brooch.”

“That’s right,” Kaito grins. “you said it would give a negative reaction to those associated with **Chaos Magic**! Well, Ouma is in the clear then!”

“I suppose,” Shuuichi thoughtfully mumbles, bringing a hand to his mouth. “I’d like for Kazehaya-san to confirm the state of the brand, if possible.”

“I’ll give it a try.” I nod. Now that this was discussed, I didn’t feel as worried as before. I have some minor concerns about Ouma and I’d feel happier if I could get answers to them. . . but there was something pressing at the moment. “. . . But I’ve theorized Ouma-kun is an orphan for quite a while. . . I’ve brought this up to Kaichii before . . .” Shuuichi was quickly able to catch on to the implications as he grew a little paler and muttered a quiet ‘oh’.

“Huh? What’s that gotta do with anything?” Kaito questions.

“If . . . If Ouma-kun really is an orphan, it means he may have been branded _in_ the orphanage.” Shuuichi slowly explains, rather disturbed by the prospect. “If that’s the case, who’s to say the other children in the orphanage were branded too?” He shudders just a little and it’s hard to tell if it’s because of the weather or the concept of transforming orphans into cultists.

It was all based on assumptions, but an orphan with the mark of the **Crawling Chaos**? An entire orphanage in this world that worshiped that bastard? The very thought of it made my skin crawl. . . Children worshiping a monster that feed of humanity’s despair, negative thoughts and emotions.

But, that would be an easy way for him to gain power, isn't it?

Children that go through orphans, especially Japan’s, don't. . . they don't usually leave with a positive outlook. Becoming jaded and bitter was usual, along with a number of mental issues and they are easy targets for discrimination because of the very fact they’re orphans.

“Jesus Christ. That’s fucked up.” Kaito hisses under his breath, wiping sweat from his face. The three of us drift into a state of silence. I could see the look of annoyance on Kaito’s face as he struggled to string his words together. “. . . To fight some jackass that gets off on the suffering of others. Why is it you who has to fight him? Isn’t there anything we can do? This whole **destiny** of yours is fucked up Yuuki. You shouldn’t have to do it alone.” I blink for a moment before folding my hands together and give him a gentle smile.

“Have hope. Be good. Have positive feelings. If you can do that, I’ll never be alone nor will I be powerless.”

“That’s all. . .?” Shuuichi questions. Nodding my head, I smile.

“The **Crawling Chaos** gathers power from humanity’s **D** **e** **spair** , their negative feelings and action but, I am the opposite of that. With everyone’s positivity and ability to **Hope** , I can become more powerful.” I glance up to the dome displaying a cheap copy of the night sky but I find myself smiling. “I mean, I’ll still have to train but, having the entire multiverse behind me and supporting me, I’m sure I’ll defeat him whenever we duel!”

“Aw right! Go Kiriri!” Kaito beams, flashing me his charming smile.

“‘Whenever’?” Shuuichi repeats, his tone disbelieving. “You’re destined to fight him in a duel. . . but you have no idea _when_ that duel is. . .?”

[ **\- Blue Bird Lamentation Rearranged -** ](https://youtu.be/pQM_sHhRtdU)

“Oh, uh,” I uneasily swallow a wad of saliva and pull my knees to my chest. After what feels like an eternity of silence, I speak once more. “time shenanigans are involved there. . .”

 

* * *

 

_And so, I told them about the very first mission I ever took on._

_At first, it seemed so simple._

_A letter arrived at Council Landing, its envelope dyed red with blood, said letter contained a plea from the restless spirit of a woman that begged for someone to come and recover the soul of her child but no one on the Council could retrace where this letter came from. . . so it was my job to figure it out._

_I was thirteen at the time when I worked on that job. One of my seniors forged some paperwork so I could be stationed at a high school -- Kisaragi Academy -- that seemed to relate to the origin of the letter. I participated in school like any other person and for my short time there, I met a lot of good people. Some were shy, boisterous, rough around the edges and charming._

_. . .They were really good people according to the memories._

_But one day, on the eve of the Cultural Festival, we learned that one of our classmates had to move away for the sake of her father’s new job. She wouldn't be moving far away. Only across the city. We could always see her again. . . but it  was still sad to have such a radiant light leave out classroom. Before she left, she decided to formally introduced her friend to me to one of her dear friends._

_. . . Her name was Hibiki._

**_Hibiki Ikkyou_** _._

 _She was. .  . She was a very popular and nice girl, but deemed mysterious due to her unknown homelife, and despite how little we talked before hand, she somehow grew a crush on me. . . but she unknowingly carried the sin of_ **_Envy_ ** _as one of the_ **_Crawling Chaos_** _’s children._

_I was young, too inexperienced, and her power was sleeping._

_It was a recipe for disaster._

_With the Cultural Festival complete, our friend had spend her final day with us but our class representative wanted to perform a charm to keep us united -- the Sachiko Ever After Charm. I didn’t want to do it. It gave me a bad vibe for some reason . . . But I did it anyway because I didn’t want to be left out. . ._

_Our class rep teased us, joking if we did the charm incorrectly, we would be cursed. That bad feeling never left. I should have said something. . . but I never did. . . an we. . . ._

_We did it wrong._

_By incorrectly doing the charm, we were transported to a cursed hellscape that existed outside both time and space, cut from the very underworld itself. The Heavenly Host Elementary School. The very same school that existed on the same plot of land as Kisaragi Academy about thirty years ago._

_The school was decaying and filled with the corpses of teenagers that also failed the charm. There was no escape, doors and windows couldn’t open, it was like they were painted on instead. People lost control of themselves due to a curse that existed, they would black out and act on the negative emotions they were hiding and if they weren’t affected by this curse, they would eventually succumb to all sorts of horrifying deaths, may it be nature taking course or by the hands of the living or the dead that haunted the school._

_It. . . It was horrible. So many of my friends died._

_So many other people died and they were erased from reality itself as a consequence._

_But, Hibiki. . . coming to this cursed land riddled with death and Chaos Magic, it broke whatever seal as in her that kept her magic at bay. She went completely insane as a consequence. She lost just about all traces of her humanity and became a demon as her_ **_Envy_ ** _consumed her._

_It was. . . It was my fault._

_Sure, I had no way of knowing she loved me but. . . I spoke so much about the boy I had a crush on. Even though I was searching the school with the class president too before the three of us were separated and I ran into Hibiki, I was so focused on solely him._

_When we found him. . . Hibiki stabbed me. She went on a rant about how she was sent to Kisaragi to measure my powers as I was destined to fight her father. At the time, I couldn’t understand it. To be honest, I didn’t want to._

_I didn’t want to believe the girl that kindly comforted me when one of our friends died was lying._

_But, when she said she would hurt him, the boy I had a crush on, all for the sake of making me suffer and to give me incentive to live. . . I found a new burst of strength and power. Enough power to send Hibiki flying into a wall with a simple shove._

_We escaped her clutches and reunited with our surviving friends so we could collaborate together to end the curse of Heavenly Host. It was a long, hard and grueling path. . . but we did it. We were able to purify the soul of the child that accidentally created the hellish environment on her death and in doing so, I was able to complete the mission objective I was given in the first place by my superiors._

 

* * *

  

Finishing my recount, I find Shuuichi to be lost in thought, his hand thoughtfully cupping his mouth, while Kaito stared directly at me with wide eyes, sweating and looking a bit and looking a few shades paler. I expected as much from Kaito, but I’m surprised by how calm Shuuichi looks.

“Damn. . . I-I remember hearing about that charm in mi-middle school.” Kaito shivers, clutching himself. He rubs his forearms in an attempt to calm down. “I-I can’t believe it’s real. . .” I blink. I guess . . .I shouldn’t be so surprised to hear that this curse extended and reached out to other worlds. . .

“Was.” I gently corrected. “Ever since Sachiko was purified, the charm was broken. She’s been released of her curse, repented for her sins and even reborn into a new life.”

“ _Good_.” He curtly replies, looking like he rather vanish into his jacket and hide from the world.

“But. . . Isn’t that strange?” Shuuichi suddenly speaks up, causing the two of us to look his way. “At one point, you said ‘according to the memories’ . . .” He points out. “Are you saying. . . You don’t _remember_ going through any of this?”

“No.” I answer without hesitation. “I can’t remember a single thing.”

“Can’t. . . Can't remember?” Kaito gasps. I don't blame their confusion. To be honest, when I learned of these events I couldn't hardly believe them. How couldn’t I forget any of this? _Why_ would I forget? But it turns out, the explanation was simple.

“The previous Goddess of Hope **stole these memories from me out of spite**.”

“What the _hell_?!” Kaito booms. “Why the hell would they do that?!”

“That’s. . . a little too personal. . .” I sigh curling a strand of hair around my finger. “Sorry.” I quietly mumble, awkwardly glancing away. Kaito quickly shifts across the cobblestone to take a seat beside me and wraps his arms around my shoulders. He gave them a reassuring squeeze before pressing his lips to my temple I lift my head, giving him an odd look, but he simply smiles.

“That’s fine Kiriri. Don't worry about it. You can tell us when your ready, okay?” I smile, nodding my head as I reached out and took his other hand into my own. We stared at each other, feeling content under each other's gazes for the moment.

[ **\- Sacrificial Demise -** ](https://youtu.be/X93VRYle0tY)

“But, how do you know _any_ of this?” Shuuichi presses, having far too many questions to contain himself.

“Unfortunately, nothing can ever be truly normal for me.” I sigh, withdrawing my hand in order to crossing my arms and grasping my elbow. “Remember how I said I lost my memories and ended up in a town called Inaba?” Shuuichi blinks for a moment, recalling the words we shared in the lift to the trial.

“Ah, yes. You said. . . that’s where you learned how to face the truth. . .”

“. . . Yeah. The truth is, I didn’t simply lose my memories. **I was cursed**. I was attacked by the **Crawling Chaos** himself. One of my seniors was with me at the time, Amaterasu. She tried to fight back, but we were both overpowered. She simply ended up losing all her powers while I responded differently to his curse.” I let out a deep sigh, glancing up to the stars that littered the dome above us. “Maybe he was testing my resistance to his power. I’m not really sure. . . . Regardless. . . .” I trail off for a moment, glancing at nothing in particular as I strung my thoughts together. “I don't want to get into detail about it, since talking about all this stuff is exhausting. . . but as simply as I can sum it up, I had a chance reunion with Hibiki. . .”

“A reunion. . . ?” Shuuichi repeats.

“Yeah . . .  Surprisingly, it turned out some of her humanity still existed. It was buried for a long time. . . and seeing me somehow brought it back. She offered to remove the curse her father placed on me. . . but in exchange, I would have to return when I was strong enough and kill her.”

“What?! You didn't take that deal Kiriri, right?!” Kaito demands, sweating just a bit. I was silent. I clutched my arms and refused to look either of them in the eye. He lets out a shaky sigh and his shoulders droop. “Kiriri. . . you. . .”

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

“I . . . I don't kill but I can make an exception.” I softly whisper clutching my chest. “That is **if the person makes the request or they lose their humanity** . . . but Hibiki knew I was hesitating so she begged for me to end her life before everything that made ‘Hibiki Ikkyou’ was gone and only a demon of **Envy** remained. . .”

I pause once more, slowly turning my gaze back to the two young men sitting beside me. They didn't look to me with disgust as I expected. . . maybe hints of confusion but what stood out the most was the genuine looks of sadness and sympathy. I think they understood how hard the entire ordeal was for me. . . but it was completely unexpected for me.

Honestly, I find it hard to understand. They’re completely normal mortals. . . and yet, they listen to what I have to say and just. . . _accept it_. . . but, I guess I’m thankful for the open and understanding aspects that makes up who they are.

“Hibiki . . she then tore the last shreds of her humanity from her body -- an action that would let the demon within her take over -- and with those final shreds, she created a very powerful katana that she dubbed ‘ _Devilman_ ’. It allowed me to view her memories of our time together. . . and I could see her perspective of those events and I understood _why_ she fell into shambles.”

“I-I see,” Shuuichi softly replies.

“. . .Seeing someone’s else's memories must be wild.” Kaito adds. I simply hum, my brain suddenly spiraling into a scattered mess that attempts to string itself back together.

It’s been so many years and, to be honest, thinking about Hibiki is so depressing for me. To remember how weak I was, how I couldn’t protect my friends and classmates and discovering I wasn’t human for the first time. I’ve certainly grown stronger since then and I’ve come to realize despite my origins and abnormal nature, I’m not some monster. . .

But I. . . Those fears still exist and I've still failed so many people. Not just the victims of Heavenly Host. Even now, on other worlds, people are suffering and I’m stuck on another world with me unable to do anything to help.  For someone destined to be a beacon of hope, I’m kinda pathetic aren’t I? But still. . .  I want to try. I have to try.

“. . . Even if I couldn’t remember. . . **My heart remembered**. It remembered all the agony and heartbreak I faced . . .” I trail off for a moment as I realize tears are falling down my face and like always, the realization broke my heart. I would cry more and more, making an ugly wailing sound. Kaito quickly wrapped his arms around me, and I clutched his body as hard as I could as if I was trying to anchor myself to reality. . .  and I felt safe in his arms. Kaito is just so kind to me. I really do care for him. . . . So, I would be fine if I was here forever. . .

“Hibiki didn’t deserve that. . . ! My friends and all those victims! They didn't deserve to feel the pain of their deaths again and again . . .! They didn't deserve to be forgotten. . . ! So I have to . . . I _have_ _to_ keep fighting for their sake!” I'm certain I wasn’t able to convey my words through my tears but by saying these things my chest felt a little bit lighter.

“. . . Kazehaya-san, I’m sorry.” Shuuichi apologizes in a soft voice. His hands uncomfortably twitch before he grabs at his pants legs and he bites his lips. “I asked questions that brought up a sad subject for you.”

“No, don't apologize.” I let out a shuddering sigh as I wiped the tears from my eyes. “To be honest. . . I haven’t had the chance to talk about these things I’ve been feeling for a long time. I’ve had back to back with missions since I returned to work and while I _was_ home, it was my daughter's birthday so I didn’t have any time to talk about myself.” Abruptly, Kaito places his hands on my shoulders and pulls me back so he could look into my eyes. There was a look of determination on his face and his usual huge grin that I’ve come to love.

“Okay, you need to take care of yourself.” Kaito announces, his huge grin still in place. . . But he’s delivering this as if it’s some sort of revelation I’m supposed to have. I already know this. I’m just. Too busy to deal with that. “So, you’re gonna work out with us and share whatever is on your mind!” I stare blankly at him for several long moments before furrowing my brows.

“What.” I question but his grin doesn't fade or falter for even a moment.

“You heard me!” He grins, giving me a thumbs up.

“Kaito, I can literally bench press you.” I state in a flat tone. . . but _still_ his smile didn't fade for a single moment. I place my face in my hands and let out a sigh. I suppose that’s another reason why I love him. His determination, his refusal to give up and his want to help others. “Ugh. . . Fine. I’ll work out with you, you dork.” With a smile, I gave him a playful shove and he laughs back in response.

Lost in our own world, we missed the troubled and a tad distressed look on Shuuichi’s face. His smile is awkward and he uncomfortably rubs his arm. To see the two people he developed a crush on flirting and being cutesy before his very eyes made it feel like a hole was torn open in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, Kisaragi-Heavenly Host incident, otherwise known as Bloody Letters, is another arc within my series. It was originally planned to be a RPG/Visual Novel combo, but shit happened and that didn't work out [ RPG Maker can eat my ass ] but I have 5 of 6 chapters fully written so, I’ll finish it soon [ maybe ] and maybe one day I’ll post it. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> The second half of Kazehaya’s tale -- her reunion with Hibiki -- refers to the events of Persona Q, for simplicity’s sake, she didn't go into too much detail about what happened. [ It was for the best as some paradox occurs as the Persona 3 cast appears in said game along with Persona 4’s cast in a pocket outside of time and space -- which is also where Heavenly Host would be located. And WELL, she was a member of SEES too so there was TWO of her present. It was an Experience for everyone involved. ]
> 
> The name of the blade, uhhh,, ,, it was originally codenamed: ‘The Blade of Seven Sins’ since its specialized to harm the seven sins children but I never gave it anything ‘official’ in a sense until I watched Devilman Crybaby and I felt that Akira’s situation said a lot about Hibiki’s situation so, it’s officially named ‘The Devilman’ now.


	20. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {07}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The motive is revealed and we dig deep into someone's past

[ **\- Miss (** ~~ **Monomi** ~~ **) Aphrodite’s Practice Lesson -** ](https://youtu.be/g9R5mpVVuQ8)

**[** **Aphrodite’s Corner** **]**

And that’s right, it’s time for another lesson!

As we previously reviewed, The Council is composed of many individuals that work together in harmony to supervise the various worlds that create the Multiverse! The Council is composed of three groups, each that have important responsibilities to perform. Not a single one is more important than the other. Should one level fail, the whole order can fall into a collapse!

Today, we shall discuss the final group, **The Lords of Death**! As previously mentioned, with the death of the two **Prime Goddesses** , the process of how to create a soul from scratch was loss to time. With their loss, the two new orders were established to purify the souls of the deceased and thus created the process known as **Reincarnation**.

When an individual dies **The Sisters of Fate** , _The Trio of Strings and Fate_ , cut the strings that bind the soul from the body, allowing the soul to rise up. Once the soul is removed from the body, the decomposition process begins and return to the soul to the body is impossible.

Cutting the string also allow for the souls to rise and gather in the **Sea of the Dead** , the body of water that surrounds the Council Landing and these souls are recovered by **Thanatos** \-- a young man named **Ryoji Mochizuki** , _The Prince of Fate and the Deceased_ \-- and then delivered to **Orpheus** , _The Guide of Mind and Safety_.

On the other hand, Cursed Souls are recovered by the Students of the **Shibusen** , a school specialized in training weapons and students to harness their powers and the **Shinigami** \-- **Death the Kid** , _The Headmaster of Order and the Cursed_ \-- is the Headmaster of the academy.

As mentioned, it is **Orpheus** ’s responsibility to guide these souls through the winding path that leads to gates of **Hell** and bring them before **Satan** \-- **Dante Velia** , _The Origin of Life and Morality_ \-- who will judge them for their behavior and every action they showed throughout their mortal life. It is he who decides where the soul shall go. Do they enter the **Gray Garden** or do they report to **Sugawara Delta** to receive their missions in order to atone?

A number of important individuals exist in the Lords but do not play an active role in the reincarnation cycle. For example, there is **Cerberus** , _The Dog of Chaos and Disorder_ , that serves the role of protecting **Triggers** , magical items or concepts that cause  a certain chain of events to repeat again and again; ex: a hero’s quest. **Triggers** are protected in order to prevent someone from abusing the mystical power they exhibit but they can only be destroyed by a **Hero of Hope**.

The **Executioner** \-- a young man named **Sho Minazuki** , _The Warden of the Lifeless and Uncontrolled_ \-- and **Hades** , _The Guard of Erasure and Destruction_ , make up a special duo.

**Executioner** is a new standing in the Council and their job is to hunt down dangerous individuals that would disrupt the flow of time and space and eliminate them. On the other hand, **Hades** is given the duty to protect the **Gate of Erasure** and escort the most cursed or despairing souls to total and utter annihilation for they have no hope of recovery.

Oh my! It seems we’re out of time once more!

Until next time my darling!

 

* * *

 

**June 28th; Day 09**

 

* * *

 

From the moment I woke up I could feel that something seemed . . . off but I couldn’t pin down exactly _why_ I felt that way. But, for better or worse, I decided to ignore that until I was a little more awake. I proceeded with my usual morning routine of getting dressed and taking my medication but it wasn’t until I arrived at my lab did I realize _what_ was wrong.

I removed my shoes at the genkan at usual to approach the altar without any hesitation. I collected the new offering waiting in a box under the cloth that covered the altar and stood tall once more. I looked to what was within the box, then back to the altar.

. . .I _knew_ what these items were but my brain was blank. It was like it was filled with static. Why. . . ? Why couldn’t I make the connections to what these items symbolized or where they were supposed to go? I look to the folded screens in hopes of an understanding or a sign.

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

. . . But there was nothing.

 **The Birth of the Multiverse** and **The First Valkyries of Hope and Despair**. I couldn't remember how these stories that shaped the reality of everything. . . . no matter how much I tried to search my mind I couldn't remember or understand what these things were supposed to mean to me. To make matters worse, the knowledge about my seniors -- I could clearly see their faces but, their jobs was a complete lost to me -- and I couldn't even recall my role on the Council.

All this knowledge I’ve amassed was suddenly _gone_ . It make no goddamn sense. . . how did. . . How did this happen. . .? _Why_ did this happen?

. . .Could this. . . could this be the new motive? I wanted to deny that. It sounded insane. What kind of motive can you make by taking this from me? But all of that went out the window as a familiar bell and Monokuma’s voice rang out.

**Ding dong dang dong. . . !**

_“Rise and shine my lovely students!_

_This is your one and only beloved headmaster speaking!_

_Please head to the gymnasium for a very important and VERY special meeting!”_

 

. . .

This was most definitely a motive. . .

I let out a shaky sigh before stowing away the box for the time being and looking down to the open palm of my hand. I flex my fingers just a bit to, thankfully, feel magic gathering at the tips of my finger. Oh thank god. If I lost my magic I think I might have had an aneurysm. . .

But. . . That means . . . I’m only missing what I know about preaching and if this _was_ a motive, that meant everyone was missing their talents.

Christ.

Only hell could come from this. . . .

. . .

Inevitably, I was the first to arrive given I was wide awake before anyone else in the first place. . . but Kaito appeared soon enough, dragging Ouma behind him. The smaller male was trying his damndest to look calm and collected but it wasn't working. For a brief moment, our eyes connected and for the first time, his expression were very clear.

He looked. . . very uncomfortable and a bit disturbed. I always figured he felt this way but to visibly show it. . . I guess that meant lying really _was_ apart of the Supreme Leader deal. However that’s not the weird part. The air around Ouma has shifted entirely. Not in the sense of emotion, more like . . a magical air . . .but that doesn't make sense.

To lose your talent and then suddenly have magic. . . That’s completely asinine. The only logical answer was that Ouma had magic all along.

“Kiriri,” Kaito calls out me with that usual nickname. “Are you alright? You’ve been staring at Ouma for a while.” Lifting my head, I manage to give him an awkward smile.

“Yeah. Just, thinking of things. . .”

“Egh. . .You're as gross as ever Kazehaya-chan.” Ouma mumbles under his breath. I glance over Kaito’s shoulder to raise a brow at him and Kaito wheels around to give him a nasty look. He immediately goes stiff, clutching his arms and glancing away as he quickly shuffles off to a corner of the gym to avoid the attention of others, whenever they arrive.

“What exactly is taking everyone so long?” I ask to get the attention off the clearly shaken boy. Kaito lets out a loud sigh, placing his hands on his hips.

“You won’t believe this.” A pause follows. “Well, actually, you probably _will_ given you know about all magicy stuff.”

“. . . Magicy stuff?” I repeat with a chuckle.

“Yep. Magicy stuff.”

“Kiibo is now a _boy!” Ouma shouts from across the gym. I squint my eyes in confusion, trying to understand the words spoken to me. A _real_ boy? What in the fresh hell._

“What.”

“Yeah, and Harukawa. . .” Kaito pauses as if he’s struggling to find the right words. It left me a little concerned about what possibly could have happened during the night. “is a robot. . .”  And I just _stare_ at Kaito. That couldn’t be real. Right? I could buy Ouma possibly having magic all this time but Maki transforming into a robot was kinda pushing the suspension of disbelief.

“ _What._ ” I demand incredulously

“I donno!” Kaito exclaims, breaking into a sweat. “She stepped out of her room and she sure as hell looked and _felt_ like a robot.” Hearing his words the tension leaves my shoulders and I let out a quiet laugh.

“You make that sound like you copped a feel.” I snorted.

“I DID NO SUCH THING!!” Kaito screams, his face flushed so red it went down to his neck.

“Obviously, she’s kick your ass if you _tried_.” More likely kill him but that’s besides the point. “But, I guess that explains the motive.” Kaito pales just a bit.

“Motive. . .? You can’t be serious. . .”

“Think about it. Kiibo-kun’s talent was literally being a robot. He loses it and becomes human and Harukawa-chan becomes a robot? I can’t remember any of my preaching subjects, I mean, the words are there -- kinda -- but I can’t thread my magic through them and Ouma-kun can’t lie worth a shit or keep himself together.”

“I’m fine _thank you_.” The aforementioned boy mutters.

 _Bullshit_.

“. . . When you put it like that, it makes sense. . .” Kaito reluctantly admits.

“We’ll only know for certain when Monokuma arrives.”

“I guess. Damnit. I can’t believe that bear is pulling this shit.” I can only helplessly shrug and wait for others to arrive. The next to arrive is Miu, who looks pissed that I ran off before she woke up again, and Gonta, who has pleasant smile on his face. I doubt he realized anything was actually off. . .

Nevertheless, Tenko, Angie and Himiko was the next set to enter the room with Shinguuji following behind them from a distance. Himiko still had an air of magic around her, but she seemed to be disappointed that she could not do any of her stage magic tricks anymore and Tenko attempted to cheer her up while Angie prattled on about how everything is okay as Atua predicted this would happen.

After a while Maki finally appeared, followed by Ikiko who was fretting and questioning if Maki was really okay but she curtly brushed her off with a harsh synthetic tone. So much about her looked. . . normal but at the same time it didn't.

Her hair looked normal as usual but for some reason. . . there was a metallic ahoge on her head? Her eyes looked normal but. . .  it was a bit more mechanical than usual and she had the same thick black lines under them. Much like Kiibo, she had a large metal collar around her neck with a screen, that displayed text in burgenby, around her neck was a soft burgenby cloth and she had a pair of what appeared to be headphone shaped objects on the sides of her head instead of her ears.

Her pale skin had changed to match the same silver-white tone Kiibo once had but her frame looked far more delicate compared to Kiibo’s. Or maybe, Kiibo always looked so delicate under his full body armor.

Speaking of armor, she seemed to be wearing her own set. . . but it was more feminine for some reason. She was wearing a black pleated skirt that was apparently made from some easily malleable metal and the skirt had buttons that would glow and pulse. Her stomach was covered with a soft burgundy material, much like the cloth around her neck. Over her torso was a top that was made from malleable metal and styled to resemble a fuku with a white collar and bow.

She was wearing something similar to a pair of black arm warmers and a pair of burgenby gauntlets on each of her forearms but no covering for her fingers, revealing slim silver digits. Unlike her arms, a fair amount of her legs were exposed, revealing ball joints for her knees. Two inches above her knees were painted a matching burgundy red that vanished under the black ankle boots she seemed to be wearing.

It was strange to see her like this. She looked like herself, but despite being a robot and inheriting Kiibo’s talents, she looked nothing like him. In fact, it looked like she was designed for quick and efficient kill unlike someone created for research purposes. It was an unsettling piece of mockery Monokuma made.

A few minutes passed before the doors of the gym opened once more. Amami stepped in followed by Shuuichi with a rather small pale boy with stark white hair and bright light blue eyes clinging to his arm as he trembled in fear or anxiety. It took me a few moments to realize that small boy was _Kiibo_.

He looked so . . . SO CUTE!!

Holy FUCK.

He was rather pale, pale enough that you would probably think he was porcelain or something. He still had his ahoge but it looked more natural. . . and drooping just a bit as if it was reflecting his emotional state. For the time being he was wearing one of Shuuichi’s uniforms, minus the gakuran and the sleeves of the white dress shirt was rolled up to his elbows.

“Oh my god.” I softly whispered with awe, my eyes sparkling with delight. “You’re so cute Kiibo!!” Red spreads across his cheeks as he helplessly babbles in surprise over my exclamation. Consumed by embarrassment, Kiibo shoves his face into Shuuichi’s shoulder to hide his expression.

It was silent. . . . and everyone could hear the sound of Kiibo taking a sniff. Shuuichi immediately went stiff, sputtering in shock.

“K-Kiibo. . . what are you. . .?”

“I-I’m sorry. . . !” He exclaims, jumping back to press his face into his hands. “I-I didn't realize you smelled!” Shuuichi blanches, gently tugging at his genkan.

“I-I smell?!”

“N-Not bad. . .! It’s um. . . .It’s a very nice smell actually. . . but I can't explain it. . .” Kiibo fumbles, attempting to explain his odd actions.

. . .Oh. He’s never smelled _anything_ before so he can't compare what he’s smelling to something else. . . Oh God. He’s gonna end up entering sensory overdrive won't he . . .? That’s . . . kinda a concern. . . isn’t it? However, before I could bring this up Ryouma finally arrived. Something about him was different, the way he glanced at others and examined them. It was almost like his eyes seemed . . . sharper.

“Finally!” A foreboding voice barks out. All eyes move to the podium set up on the stage and unsurprisingly, Monokuma appears with his remaining four children; two at each side of the podium.

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“Okay, to get to the point, I’ve been informed the previous **motive** I set up was ‘boring’ or ‘unexciting’,” It was almost amusing to see Monokuma attempt to make quotation marks with his paws as he let out a huff. “So I spiced it up by swapping everyone’s talents! I took everyone’s talents before randomly barfing them on someone else!”

“Huh. I guess that explains Harukawa and Kiibo.” Ryouma hums. “You did it with magic, right?”

“. . . Yeah, sure, let’s go with that.” He mumbles.

“B-But is taking our talents r-really a motive?!” Despite Ouma’s attempts to sound confident he ends up stumbling over his words and stuttering. His face goes red with shame and he basically folds in on himself. Monokuma’s twisted grin grows wider.

“But of course! These talents were your identity! They’re essential to who you ARE!” Monokuma chuckles, clutching his stomach. He stops and points to Miu, who squeaks in fear, and she attempts to hide behind Gonta. “Oh sure! You can imagine inventions but you can't even create anything anymore! Your pathetic detective can't even figure out the simplest of mysteries! A preacher that can't preach or even remember her religious scriptures!” Monokuma began to cackle once more, slapping his knee with his paw before pointing to Gonta. “You, who were raised by wolves, can't even talk to them or those silly insects you love! You all relied on your talents but without them! You have no purpose anymore!!”

“No!” Gonta exclaims in horror, taking a step back and Miu reluctantly followed behind him in order to avoid being crushed. “No. . .! All those years . . . The years Gonta spent with his forest family. . . The wolves! Gonta. . . Gonta can't communicate with them?!” Gonta brings a hand to his mouth as if he was about to burst into tears. “B-But. . . when do we get our talents back?!”

“A murder, ya’ dumbass!” Monosuke scowls. “Once a trial is complete, pops will return everyone’s talents.”

“How terrible. . .” Monophanie bemoans. “Won’t it be better if everyone accepts their new talent. . .?”

“Oh my sweet darling, that’s a precious thought!” Monokuma chuckles. “But I doubt these little _shit_ can keep their cool. If they know what’s best for them, they’ll keep quiet about who received what talent! It would be . . . unfortunate if someone found out and targeted you. Then again, that would be alright with me.” With that said, Monokuma exits stage left, three of his cubs leaving with him. . . and Monodam remaining behind.

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

I let out a deep sigh and bite the nail of my thumb. This was all a dick move but it’s exactly how I expected it to go. These talents meant a lot to everyone, even if they weren't actual **Super High School Level** students.They spent years cultivating these talents and some of them were used as everyday parts of their lives. For some of them, it was apart of their very identity as Monokuma mocked them for.

. . . Oh fuck.

This was a hell of a problem now. Someone had Maki’s genuine talent now. Uh. But I can work with this. I can just **lie** about this . . .

“Well, I know I have Harukawa-chan’s talent.”

“What?” She sharply demands, static cracking in her voice

“It’s not like I didn't know anything before, but I know a lot more about child care now.”

Nailed it.

“OH YEAH. I REMEMBERED SOMETHING!” Monokuma shouts running back on stage with his kids in tow. Ouma flinches at the loud sounds and uneasily takes a step back as Monokuma stomps over to him. The bear suddenly brandishes a silver wrist bracer with an intricate design and an oval cut jade.

. . . I can see it. I can see that Ouma is trying so hard to make himself look like he’s not afraid and he still has his usual confident aura, but he simply cannot deliver it with is back against the wall.

“Don't touch me . . .” Ouma chokes, stumbling to the side. He trips over his feet, hitting the ground with a thud. Consumed by a raw primal fear, he struggles to scramble away, crawling away as fast as he could as his feet failed to cooperate with what he wanted. “Y-You get that thing _away_ from me!”

“Aww. . . Are you scared of a little bracer?” Monokuma teases, his jagged grin stretching across his face.

“Don't be a wuss!” Monokid shouts.

“It won't hurt a bit!” Monophanie adds, placing her little paws together.

“You used to wear one before right?” Monosuke sighs, pushing his glasses into place. “Quit making this complicated you brat.” Ouma couldn't supply any answer, just chanting ‘no’ over and over again. No one knew what to do or say as Ouma _gave up_ on running away and covered his head, something like a laugh escaping him as his entire body trembled in fear.

The sight was far too jarring for everyone to logically or timely respond to. It was too hard to understand even if it was playing out before our eyes. But the way Monokuma laughed and his cubs circled Ouma’s fallen body, cackling as they circled him like a predator circled its prey, _pissed me off_. A hand reached into my purse, ready to pull a weapon out and deal with this myself, when -- surprisingly -- Tenko acted first.

She moved in the blink of an eye, bolting across the gymnasium and delivered a sloppy kick to Monokid. Despite the sloppiness of the motion, the blue cub went flying through the air, and hit the stage with a comical squeak. The bears stopped circling Ouma and took a step back, allowing her to take a clumsy defensive stand before his body.

“We don't need a bracer!” I shout, suddenly able to find my voice. I storm up to the bear, Himiko in tow, and yank the bracer from his paws. He looked offended that I would simply take something from him.

“She’s right. . .” Himiko huffs, pointing an accusing finger at Monokuma. “Why would we trust you to supply us with any sort of bracers that _aren't_ cursed? Especially when you made _your_ allegiance clear?”

“Fine.” Monokuma looks to his feet in disappointment “I see how it is. . . if _I_ try to do anything to help you guys, _I’m_ the bad guy. If you bastards want to live with a ticking time bomb, that’s your problem.”

“A time. . .bomb. . .?” Ikiko repeats, her voice trembling.

“Don't you know? Those with immensely strong magical skills and no formal training . . .” He pauses for dramatic effect before breaking into a wild laughter. “are destined to enter an **Overdrive**!”

“O- **Overdrive**. . .?” Shuuichi repeats.

“It means the **expiration** of a magic wielder in a stylish and explosive way! Ouma has so much power he would most definitely explode the school and take you all with him! Well, I’ll be in my bunker if you need me~!” Once more Monokuma and his cubs leave, abandoning Monodam once more.

That little _fucker_.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Miu shrieks. “THAT LITTLE TWINK IS GONNA EXPLODE?!”

And as he intended, the room spiraled into a panic. People are glancing to each other in worry or chattering among themselves. But then there's Shinguuji, who’s simply watching this mess unfold.

“Hey, that. . . That can't be true. . . right Kazehaya-san?” Ikiko questions. Her hands are folded together and her golden eyes are looking up at me with hope. I guess by default I am the go to person for magic shit. No pressure.

“Remember, you shouldn’t lie about such a serious subject! Atua will know if you're lying!” Angie beams, a familiar dark glint in her eyes. Kinda. . . like Ouma’s. OH GODDAMNIT.

“Nes.” I mumble, scratching my cheek.

“Nes isn’t an answer.” Maki seaths, her synthetic tone becoming a little more deadlier. “This is either a yes or no question.”

“She’s right.” Ryouma sighs, rolling the stick of his lollypop between his fingers. “Not to be harsh, if he’s a threat, he’ll need that bracer. If not, we have nothing to worry about. So, what’s the answer?”

I scratched the back of my neck, unsure of what to say. This is clearly a delicate situation. . . I can't force the bracer onto Ouma that’s for sure. It’s too obvious that he has a history with magic and it’s not a pretty one. Shuuichi cautiously stepped up to the smaller male that was hugging his own trembling body. He attempted to rest a hand on Ouma’s backside to give it a comforting pat -- something to help the smaller boy -- but Ouma flinched and let out some small yelp.

“Gonta. . . Gonta is not sure it is okay to put this. . . bracer on Ouma-kun.” Gonta admits.

“B-But. . .! But what if Ouma-kun kills us. . .! Doesn’t he _want_ the Killing Game?!” Ouma lets out a sharp breath at Ikiko’s worried examination. He lifts his head, revealing a distressed expression and sweat rolling down his face.

“S-Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ouma yells in a trembling breath, rocking himself on his knees as he returns to his rambles.

“Atua says he is not lying!” Angie beams but once more, a dark shadow covers her face. She folds an arm behind her back and waves a finger at Ouma. “But, that doesn’t mean he’s noooot a danger to us all! Monokuma wasn’t lying when he said you don't have any training, was he?”

“He’s full of shit! I-I can handle m-myself fine. . .!”

“Bu lai ya.” Angie beams, her grin growing across her face. She suddenly yanks the bracer out of my hand and moves it close to Ouma’s face. Yet another strangled sound escapes him. His stubby nails scratch at Shuuichi, even as the ex-detective wraps his arms around him to protect him from Angie. The new supreme leader pouts. “Shuuichi, that’s not nice! I’m trying to protect everyone! It is what Atua wants!”

“By terrorizing him?” Shuuichi demands in a hushed tone. He’s not even sure _why_ he’s acting this way. He’s not the strongest or bravest person. . . but perhaps it was the sight of someone who seemed so strong collapsing -- or maybe, he was like this all along -- in such fear, he felt like he had to do _something_. “Angie-san, this is too cruel.”

“Cruel?” She repeats. “Oh no, no, no! Angie wants everyone to live together in harmony! And Atua says, this is the right course!”

“Right course my ass!” I exclaim, finally finding my voice. I can't even believe myself. Why had I acted so slow? Why didn't I say or do anything sooner? It was completely asinine. My religious scriptures have nothing to do with ability to fight or cast magic. Was I just too shocked? Whatever caused this delay in my actions is such bullshit.

“Monokuma would _never_ give us something to help us without it having a way to turn around and bite us in the ass.” Clenching my teeth, I grab my chest as if I’m trying to emphasize my point. “We don't even _know_ if his magic can't be used offensively. It could be support spells for all we know, and thus cannot be used to actually harm us. If that’s the case, I can easily train him myself! _If_ he needs a bracer, I’ll give him _mine_. It was made by my seniors and carefully crafted so it will not harm the user nor let it be used against them.

“And if you _honestly_ think I’m going to stand here and let you, someone who has no idea about magic, make the decision about what’s the best for someone who needs help _with_ magic, you’ve got another goddamn thing coming. If anything happens, it will be _my_ responsibility.”

“Kiriri is right!” Kaito adds pounding his fists together with enthusiasm. “If she and Yumeno say it’s no good, it's no good! They _are_ the experts on this subject!”

“Yumeno-san,” Tenko calls. The small witch looks her way with a hum. “If Tenko understands, you agree with Kazehaya-san’s judgement, correct?”

“That’s right. . .” Himiko lets out a loud yawn before continuing. “I wouldn't trust any sort of magical instruments from Monokuma and to be honest. . . I really doubt Ouma could hurt _us_.” Off to the side, Ouma grumbled something about how he was a supreme leader and he will rule over us all. I can only guess that’s his attempt to seem like he’s still on the top.

. . .

To be honest, as long as he wasn’t scare into an emotional and vulnerable state he should be fine. . . Still. . . Thankfully, it seemed that was enough to get everyone to finally calm down.

“Then, everything is fine!” Kaito laughs, flashing a thumbs up.

“Everything is _not_ fine.” Maki hisses

“All of our talents are jumbled up!” Ikiko exclaims, reminding him of what the initial problem was.

“Well, that’s true. . .” He mutters, rubbing the back of his hand against his chin. A few moments pass before he breaks into a smile. “But that’s no problem! We get to experience new things and fall in love with the things we love all over again!”

“That’s. . . a romantic way to look at it?” The twintail girl hesitantly offers but Kaito continues to grin as if he’s presented them all with the greatest answer of all times. An awkward silence passes once more.

“Gonta thinks. . . **Gonta is still Gonta**.” I blink, a little a taken back by his words. I didn’t think the words I offered to him would come back in a way like this.

“Yeah,” I smile, placing my hands on my hips. “Even if our talents are different. We’re still the same people we were with them. There’s only one of us after all!” Some were reluctant to agree with the words but there were some that agreed. Ultimately people slowly trickled out of the Gym, wondering what the hell they were going to do with themselves now.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

Because of circumstances, Monodam excused me from kitchen duty -- leaving it to Amami and Kiibo -- and informed us a clinic was added to the warehouse before departing from the Gym.

At this point in time, Shuuichi, Ouma and myself migrated to my office. The three of us sat at the kotasu in silence. I didn’t want to pressure Ouma into saying anything but he clearly refused to discuss anything about his magical origins so I had no choice but to take charge.

“How long?” I finally question with a sigh. “Wore a bracer and had that brand, I mean.” Ouma clenches his jaw and uncomfortably grabs at his chest, if I had to guess it was the location of the brand.

“. . . Around the time of my parents’. . .” His trembling voice breaks off for a moment. “E-Eight? Maybe nine years. . . I had to. . . I had to hide. . .”

“Hide?” I repeat baffled by the concept. This wasn’t a world that naturally had magic. Why would he have to hide? But, as I expected, he doesn’t answer. He looks down to his lap, looking distressed at ever but this time around, he doesn’t flinch when Shuuichi gently pats his shoulder. Thankfully, he was becoming used to Shuuichi and his kind gestures.

“. . . I don't. . . I don't want to talk about _him_.” I bring a finger to my lip with a thoughtful expression. As much as I don't want to upset him, I may have to push a bit to get questions.

“Right. . . But, if you had a bracer before, where did it go?”

“. . .It was gone when I woke up at this campus. I guess. . .  Monokuma took it.”

“Why would he take it and then try to put it on again?” Shuuichi questions out loud, a troubled look on his face. Ouma helplessly hugs his body, quietly mumbling a simple ‘I don't know’. He goes silent for several long moments before whispering: “It’s not the same. . .”

“Not the same?” I repeat. “. . .Not the same bracer?” He carefully nods his head.

“The bracer I used. . . was from my . . . my . . .” He trails off once more, a hollow expression consuming his face.

“If. . . If you have magic,”  I pause, shaking my head to correct myself. “No, _because_ you have magic, you clearly inherited it from one of your parents. So, its a safe assumption that you received a bracer from them as well, correct?” Carefully, he nods his head. I pause once more, trying to figure out how to formulate my words. “. . .Then, the brand. . . How did you get it? I hate to assume, but was it given to you in an orphanage or. . .?”

“. . .No. I-I don't want to. . .I-I don't know anything about an orphanage. . .” His expression and tone was clearly a lie. But I couldn't quite tell _what_ was a lie. A lie that he lived in an orphanage or he’s lying about the brand?

“Ouma-kun, I know this is a hard subject, but, I need to know, what is the state of the brand?” He blinked, looking at me with uncertain and scared eyes.

“The state. . .?”

“That brand belongs to someone who is out to kill me. He gains more and more power when people become violent and full of negative feelings. I am the opposite. I gain power when people feel positive emotions and give back to each other.” I pause for a moment, trying to let my words sink in. Maybe it would let him know I have absolutely zero intention of harming him and he would be a bit more willing to cooperate with me. “Many of his followers bear the same symbol, thus stating their intentions to cause **D** **e** **spair** and other negative feelings.”

“W-What do you mean by you're the ‘opposite’?!” He questions in a shaking voice, wearily looking at me with suspicion. “That doesn’t make sense. . . he. . . and you. . . you're married with kids. . . That’s hardly **Chastity** unless all your kids are adopted. . .?”

I bring a finger to my lip thoughtfully. **Chastity** , the **Virtue** that rivals the **Sin of Lust**. Perhaps that means Ouma had no dealings with the **Crawling Chaos** , but instead one of his children. The **Child of Lust** . . . Perhaps that’s the being with **Chaos Magic** that Himiko and I have been sensing all along.

“Ah. I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. I am referring to what is most likely the _father_ of who you are referring to.”

“The. . . father. . . ?”

“Yes, the **Crawling Chaos**. He could very well be described as the **_Wraith of Chaos and Despair_**. That symbol belongs to him, and his children and followers bear it, much like my children bear the **Blooming Hart**.”

“ **Blooming Hart**. . . ? You mean the shape the pins you and Yumeno-san created?” Shuuichi questions. I nod my head.

“Yes, exactly. Unlike the **Blooming Hart** , it seems anyone can replicate his symbol, but that’s besides the point. I have _very high doubts_ that you, Ouma, have sided with the **Crawling Chaos**. Even more so given your state and inability to lie.”

“I can lie just fine!” Ouma hisses between clenched teeth, desperate to prove he’s not weak or small. It was kinda painful to watch. Ouma was clearly shaken and disturbed. The image of a prideful Supreme Leader was gone, after this, no one would take him seriously. And worse of all, it was my fault. I asked for a different motive with a **favor** and . . . that whole scene in the gym happened because I foolishly gave Monokuma a chance to do so.

“Nevertheless,” I continue with a small sigh. “This may be harsh of me to ask, but please remove your top. I need to see the brand to properly assess the situation.” Red flushes to his cheeks and he looks almost offended I would ask such a thing.

It’s pretty weird on my end too . . .

“I know it sounds weird but this _is_ important.”

“Y-You really _are_ a gross pervert Kazehaya-chan.” He hisses between his teeth as he hugs his body tightly. “I can’t let Saihara-chan see my gross body.”

“I-I’m sure you don't look bad at all Ouma-kun!” Shuuichi exclaims, his cheeks dusted with pink. His expression was a bit a taken back by how Ouma talked poorly about himself. In return Ouma’s face flushed red and he shakily pulled his scarf above the bottom of his face as an attempt to hide. It was pretty fucking cute. . .

“Ouma please. . .” I whisper, trying to get things back on course. “It will be quick and I won’t ask you to do this again.” He side eyes me, giving me an untrusting look. I awkwardly smile. He glances back to Shuuichi, who looks as awkward as ever but he still delivers a warm kind smile Ouma’s way. The smaller male makes a loud humming sound of irritation but. . . he concedes.

“F-Fine. . . but only for my b-beloved's sake!”

_That's pretty gay._

His fingers tremble as he undoes the clips and buttons at the top of the shirt but that didn't reveal a single thing to either of us. He uneasily gulps before reaching up to untie the scarf around his neck. With the cloth no longer in the way, his top flutters open to reveal a mess of markings on the skin of his left collarbone.

“That’s enough . . . right?” He tries to button his top once more but I quickly stop him in a firm voice. He freezes, almost like he's paralyzed. I move from the seat across from him the spot beside him to focus on the mark of **Chaos** , and just as I hoped, the brand looked more like a jagged scar -- in fact. . . it looked like it was literally carved into his skin with a knife or something just as sharp. Christ. -- but. . . why?

Why where there **two** markings on him now?

“Where did this second one come from?” I question, pointing to the second mark which, for some reason, was _under_ the **Crawling Chaos** ’s brand. It looked a lot like the emblem on his clothes. . . I assumed it was for his High School but did Ouma actually attend school?

“Second? What are you talking about?” He meekly questions, clutching the top of his uniform close.

“It looks like your emblem on your uniform.” Shuuichi gently explains, placing his hand on Ouma’s shoulder. Ouma looks down to his lap, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. I reach into my purse, pulling out a simple silver compact and placed it in his hands. Ouma’s fingers tremble as he handles the little device, even flinching just a little as it flips open.

And then. . . he just stares. He spends what feels like an uneasily long time looking at himself as his trembling fingers touch his face, like he couldn't really believe this face was really his own. Eventually, he angles the mirror so he can see the scarring on his own chest.

“. . . **My sigil**?”

“You know what your sigil looks like?” I question, raising a brow. “Wouldn’t that means you had to have _some_ training?”

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“My mother. She taught me a little. Enough so I could see my sigil.” He reveals in a soft voice. “She was. . . a kind and loving woman. . .” For a moment, a warm smile crosses Ouma’s face as he fondly recalled the woman before a his distressed expression returned. “Too kind. . . On the day I was born, my parents found a baby boy, abandoned. . . They took him in and raised him as my if he was my brother. A twin brother. It was. . . the worst mistake of their lives.”

“That must have been the **Child of Lust**. . .” Ouma is silent for a while, staring down at his hands with an empty expression. Several moments pass before he finally responds with a simple ‘yeah’.

“He wasn’t. . . okay. He seemed normal at first. . . but when I got older, I realized he was really unhinged. When I was younger, he’d do terrible things. . . He’d beat me and threaten me if I tried to tell anyone. I was just so. . . _terrified_ of him so I never said anything. Mom always believed me when I said I just fell. She was too kind to believe that my own family was hurting me. . .” His voice trembles and he quickly shoves his face into his hands to hide the tears that begin to fall.

“I should have said something. . .I-I should have. . . why . .  .why did _they_ have to die and I live. . .?”

“O-Ouma-kun. . .” Shuuichi looks uncertain of what to do. Like he wants to comfort Ouma but he has no idea how to go about it without possibly scaring him. Eventually, he settles on gently rubbing the smaller’s backside as sobs shake his body.

“He just. . . he tore them apart like it was nothing! Like. . .! Like they were dolls! And stuffing came out of them, not blood and guts! The red was everywhere! Everywhere! I was covered in it!” Ouma’s hands move from his face into his hair, violently tugging and pulling, and his eyes are wide with fear and utter terror. It was a different kind of terror he presented before. It was utterly hopeless.

“Okasan. . . .! Okasan. . .! He won't listen! Stop! Stop!” He completely dissociated from reality, reliving the moment he lost his parents. It seems his mother tried to reason with the **Child of Lust** but inevitably, it was a failed attempt. “Tamekichi! Stop! Okasan. . .! Okasan is already gone. . .!” Ouma sobs and despite his attempts to clean his face, he can't stop the tears from falling. He incoherently rambles about how it hurt -- most likely referring to the moment the brand of **Chaos** was etched into his skin -- and how he’s terrified and he needs to run.

Shuuichi wraps his arms around Ouma, pulling the small trembling mass into his lap as if he was trying to protect him. Ouma sobs harder, perhaps relieved that finally -- _finally_ \-- he was being comforted in his sad life. He clings to Shuuichi, wrapping his arms around his torso, his stubby nails attempting to dig into his backside and anchor himself to reality.

[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

I don't want to ask him anymore questions. . . I can infer enough from Ouma’s story and figure out what happened. It’s likely that the **Child of Lust** . . . was an earlier product in the **Crawling Chaos** ’s attempt to make a child warrior to stop me. A failed product specifically.

The child was abandoned and yet, found its way to this World to be adopted by Ouma’s parents and given the name Tamekichi. Perhaps _because_ of the fact he was a failed experiment he was not able to act like a proper human and instead had extreme psychopathic tendencies. . . Or maybe, Tamekichi being adopted _was_ the test and the murder of the Ouma parents was what proved to the **Crawling Chaos** that he was a failed prospect for his project as he could not blend in properly with society. Either way, it's completely fucked up. These people _raised him_ and he turned against them, violently murdering them before their actual blood child.

. . .

Its. . . It’s probably a fair assumption to make that Ouma’s mother was a being with magical powers from another world -- one who slipped through tears in time-space like Lavender. This seems rather likely if she was able to pass on a bracer to Ouma in the first place. . .

But. . . Why, no, _how_ did Tamekichi kill her? The Sigil on Ouma’s body proves that he carries such an incredible **White Magic**. Magic that he inherited from her. Certainly, she must have had enough power to fight him off in a premature stage or at least create a barrier to keep him at bay.

Maybe that was just her personality? He did say she was too kind for her own good.

. . .

Oh.

When he said that to me. . . was he thinking about what happened to his mother?

That’s. . . That's depressing. . .

But, still, maybe Tamekichi wanted her magic and resorted to tearing her apart to obtain it, thus expanding his skillset and perhaps build a resistance to **White Magic**. . .and with Ouma as her inheritor, he then turned his sights on him. So the brand he carved into Ouma’s skin was _not_ to mark him as a follower of the **Crawling Chaos** , but to **be used as a tracking device**.

Glancing back to Shuuichi and Ouma, I find Shuuichi gently patting Ouma’s head and softly reassuring him he was safe now. Ouma looked up to him with big glittering eyes, desperately wanting to believe Shuuichi’s words but it was just so hard for him. I softly sigh, looking away from them to return to my thoughts. I have no idea how long Ouma lived under the thumb of his brother or what kind of abuse he faced during said time but I have a feeling he wouldn't have let him leave so easily. . . On top of that, perhaps his lying _isn't_ pathological as I initially thought but his only coping mechanism to cope with what he dealt with in the past.

Jesus . . _No wonder_ Ouma is so terrified.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maki’s Robot design is based off Nhitori’s design for their talent swap AU with some minor tweaks. It’s good content. pls read their work  
> https://sta.sh/01ytt3tpt6oa
> 
> Bu lai ya; According to my research is Hawaiian slang for liar. Also supposed to be used if the person lies often enough or to the person’s face. Perfect for Ouma.
> 
> Ouma’s brother, the Child of Lust, is named Tamekichi -- written as 為吉. ‘Tame’ can mean a number of things but the intended was ‘to serve’ and combine that with ‘Kichi’ we get ‘luck’. They basically intended to leave their organization to Kokichi and have Tamekichi work at his side. It, , , ,didnt work out


	21. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {08}

Around noon, Himiko and Amami arrived at my office with plates of food in hand. Shuuichi tried to encourage Ouma to eat something but it didn’t quite workout. He was able to take a few small bites from an onigiri before giving up and limply rested in Shuuichi’s lap, his expression devoid of life.

Himiko and I stepped out of the office for a moment, leaving the three boys to their own for the time being. Himiko let out a long hum, her eyes as droopy as ever.

“So, what's yer assessment?”

“Uh, he’s got **White Magic** for sure. . . but. . .”

“Buuuut?”

“He’s. . . pretty fucked up.” I uselessly offer. She stared back at me, looking unimpressed. I let out a sigh as I rub the back of my neck. She had a right to know I suppose since she’s going to asses and see if he has any prowess with **Black Magic**. “Okay, fine, but this is top secret, got it?” She nods her head, lifting up her left hand to show me an ‘okay’ sign.

“So remember the whole **Children of Sins** thing we discussed during cremations?” Himiko nods her head. With a deep sigh, I place my hands on my hips and continue. “Well, it’s a small world. Ouma was raised alongside one of them as a brother but he turned out to be a rather abusive shit that murdered both of his parents in front of him.

“I’m assuming it’s because it wanted the power Ouma’s mother possessed and gain a resistance to **White Magic**. In an honest retrospect, there was no point to even kill the dad. I feel it was done to show he was in charge. He then carved the **Eye of Chaos** into Ouma’s skin to keep track of him, since Ouma inherited magic from his mother, and kept Ouma as his prisoner before he escaped.

“As for his magic suddenly resurfacing, it may be **our fault**. Because he wore a bracer, a gift from his late mother, for nearly nine years his magic is incredibly premature, but it most likely ended up resonating with our magic and resurfaced -- even making itself known by printing a sigil on his body. Monokuma simply used it as a means to stir up trouble.”

At the end of my explanation Himiko looks a bit pale. Clearly Ouma’s backstory took a turn she was not prepared for and all she could do was whisper a distressed ‘woah’.

“I kinda. . . I kinda feel bad for him. . .” She mumbles. “Magic isn’t supposed to be used to harm people. . . It’s a gift to bring happiness to others!”

“Yes. . . It’s unfortunate not everyone sees it that way. . .” I sigh. “Don't try to pry into details. As you saw, he’s pretty shaken up. . .”

“Hmm. . . Alright. . .” Himiko sighs, scratching her ear. “Also Gonta was looking for you. I think he’s in his lab. . .”

“Really? Alright then, I’ll go see him.” We exchange farewells, I even poke my head back into my office to say goodbye for the time being to the three inside. Strangely, Ouma’s expression looks a bit. . . sad, disappointed or perhaps betrayed that I’m leaving.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

As Yumeno said, I found Gonta in his lab. Despite his lack of knowledge pertaining to Entomology at the moment, he was still doing his best. . . but Kaito seemed to be helping him, which made it rather obvious where his talent went. Kaito was the first to notice me, most likely due to the rather sharp hearing he inherited from Gonta.

“Hey! Kiriri! What brings you here?” He greets with that beaming smile. I smile back, waving his way. Gonta reels around, letting out a loud gasp and resting his large hands on his cheeks.

“Oh!! Kazehaya-san!! Gonta has something he wishes to speak about with you!”

“Yeah, Yumeno-chan mentioned that, so I came by to see you.” He gasps once more.

“How thoughtful of her! Gonta will have to thank her later!” He turns to Kaito, bowing his head. “Excuse us Momota-kun! Gonta will be right back!” With a hand on my back Gonta guides me out of the room -- allowing me a moment to expel a breath I wasn’t even aware I was holding back -- over by the windows a short distance away. The afternoon light filters through the glass, illuminating the thoughtful and confused expression on Gonta’s face.

“Kazehaya-san, is Amami-kun’s talent. . . **Hunting**?”

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

what

The look of utter confusion on my face must have tipped him off so he proceeds to explain himself with the most alarming sentence I’ve ever heard; “Gonta suddenly has a lot more knowledge of hunting. . . but no one else’s talent is hunting people. . .”

_O H    F U C K_

Of _all_ the people to gain Maki’s talent, it was goddamn Gonta. In an after thought, I realized it wasn’t that bad because at the very least we didn't have to worry about her talents being used against us but _Christ_. . . What an unlikely talent match up. Regardless, the point of asking for this new motive was to protect her, so I had to keep spinning lies in order to do so.

“No!” I shout, which is immediately followed by nervous laughter. My laughter tampers off and I cough to clear my throat. “Excuse my panic, I just never expected someone to think Amami-kun’s talent was Hunting. . .!” I send a smile Gonta’s way as I cupped my cheek in a hand. “To be honest, his talent is a **Missing Person Investigator**.”

please let this work jesus

Gonta innocently blinks, taking in my words all while I smile innocently in an attempt to sell my lie. After what feels like an eternity, Gonta smiles.

“Gonta sees! That makes sense! Amami-kun seems like the kind of person that would look for others if they went missing and protect them if anything happened!”

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/8Bh-kj5blRo)

OH THANK GOD.

“However, is there any reason why you asked me about this. . .?”

“Oh! That’s because Kazehaya-san is Amami-kun’s friend.” Gonta explains with a grin on his face. “Amami-kun was very busy but Gonta didn’t want to bother him so Gonta thought he could ask Kazehaya-san!”

“A-Ah. . . I see. . .” I forced a smile onto my face. “Thank you for trusting me Gonta-kun.”

I felt like the biggest asshole in the world.

 

* * *

 

Humming, Kaito rapped his knuckle against the door to his girlfriend’s room. There was a big smile on his face, grinning at the thought that he could do something useful for his girlfriend in the trying times she was facing. If he could ease her burden, then, he wasn't a failure as a hero.

Right?

“One moment.” Kaito blinked. Her voice seemed to be . . . different. It was a bit deeper and sounded a bit more mature. Maybe the lighter and airier tone he was used to was a bit of an act she put forth to seem not as exhausted? No. That didn't seem right. No matter what pressure she was under, she always kept that soft voice.

“Kaichii?” The door to her dorm was open, her hands folded demurely in front of her body, her head quizzically tilted to the side. Ah. Her voice sounded right now. Maybe it was the wall between them that muffled it? “Is everything alright?”

“A-Ah, yeah.” He puts on his usual charming and heroic smile and delivers a thumbs up. “I’m doing fine Kiriri! Let’s go to the Casino and relax for a bit!” Under her veil, Kaito watches her blink her eyes in confusion before a smile spreads across her face.

“I’d love that Kaichii. It’s important for me to remember to relax and keep my health in check so I don't go into an **Overdrive** too.” A chill runs down Kaito’s spine. She says that far too easily. His face takes on a bluish tint and he begins to sweat.

“E-Enter an **Overdrive**? Didn’t Monokuma say that only happened to people who didn’t have any magical training?”

“A common misconception.” She hums, hooking arms with Kaito. “The truth behind an **Overdrive** is someone forcefully surpassing a preset limit. I did it once and now I can no longer walk without pain. And in Ouma-kun’s case, because he has no training that limit is much lower.”

“So it’s easier for him to accidentally surpass his limit. . .”

“Yes and the emotional state of the caster influences the magic as well. The more distressed or angry, the likelihood the magic will backfire, causing someone to spend more mana. So it’s important to make sure those with magic are in a healthy mindset, just like anyone else.” She tilts her head to the side and leans to the side to look directly over Kaito’s shoulder. “That includes you Ouma-kun. It’s okay to avoid things if they stress you out and you're tired.”

Kaito reels around in confusion to find Ouma standing at the balcony of the second floor, his eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. Ouma bites the inside of his cheek.

“I always wondered why you walked the way you did. . .” He finally mutters. “You went into an **Overdrive** when you were younger, huh? And you’re expected to teach me?” Kaito turns to the smaller male, ready to shout something at him. Ouma flinches in anticipation but a simple touch to Kaito’s arm causes him to stop.

“Please do not worry about it, there were a number odds stacked against me at that time but they’ve long been remedied. Something like that happening again is most likely impossible at this point.”

“Wait, _that’s_ the injury to your feet?” Kaito suddenly shouts with a revelation. She looks his way with an innocent smile.

“Yes, but don't worry about it, okay?” She then looks back to Ouma, her smile persisting. “Ouma-kun, why don't you join us at the Casino?” Kaito raises a brow at her suggestion meanwhile Ouma’s expression shifts between confusion, skepticism and then a reluctant acceptance.

“If you insist.” She didn't insist at all but she smiles gently no less. . . And to the couple’s surprise, Ouma wedges himself between them. He takes a hand from each of them into his own and holds on tight. She continues to smile. Kaito sighs, but after all Ouma’s gone through today and how Yuuki is so gentle with him, it becomes rather clear to him that whatever Ouma is dealing with isn't going good at all so he decides he has to try a little harder to deal with the gremlin.

With a huff, Kaito returns the gesture and gives Ouma’s smaller hand a gentle squeeze. Ouma glances his way, his cheeks flushed red but Kaito is unable to will himself to look his way, his own cheeks dusted red.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- DANVAGAS -** ](https://youtu.be/4XLB2GAPfxw)

The three arrive at the Casino with a ten minute walk across campus, passing Shinguuji on his way from the Casino. He did not greet any of them, simply hurrying along on his way.  Nevertheless, Monosuke shouts over the counter that everyone else apart of their party is downstairs at the moment. She quizzically tilts her head and looks to Kaito for an explanation but he grins, leading both her and Ouma downstairs.

The room was bathed in a dim cyan blue light, which reflected off the dark paint job on the wall and the floor was covered with blue-and-black patterned carpeting. There were a variety of games located here; some driving game with a yellow car, a strange digging game. . .a fishing game? But mainly, there were a variety slot machines.

Taking another look around, she notices standing by the slots was Miu, Ryouma and Shuuichi.

“Hello Iruma-chan!” She greets with a smile.

“Oh! Hey, Shuuichi! I didn't know you’d be here!” Kaito grins.

“Ah, yes, I didn’t know Iruma-san invited you three. . .?” He admits looking a tad awkward. As he spoke, she noticed he was holding something under his left arm. Before she could question what it was Kaito reaches over Ouma’s head to place a hand on the shoulder of his partner.

“Well, to be honest, she was more interested in Kiriri. . .”

“Are the two of you fucking or something?” Ouma asks, in his usual crude way. It brings a small smile to her face as a part of Ouma’s personality shines through all the distress and terror he’s feeling.

“Perhaps.” She giggles.

“H-Huh? How can you say that?!” Miu gasps, her expression torn between excitement and confusion. “I-I thought you didn't want to give people the wrong idea!”

“I couldn’t help it!” She giggles. “Your flustered expression is so cute!”

“C-Cute? Y-You think I’m cute. . . ?” Miu lets out a soft gasp, her face flushed pink and she’s nearly drooling in joy at the compliment.

“Yeah, so,” Kaito begins in a desperate attempt to change the subject. “What brings you here Hoshi?”

“Heard a weird rumor through the grapevine about some special casino game so I decided to investigate.” He hums, casually twisting the candy cigarette between his fingers. “Apparently, that’s the same reason Iruma invited Saihara out here.”

“A special game?” She repeats, curiosity sparkling in her voice. It makes Miu smile and look a hell lot more excited.

“Hell fuckin’ yeah!” She abruptly turns to Shuuichi, shouting: “SHUUICHI, SHOW ‘EM THE GOODS!!”

Shuuichi fumbles for a moment, nearly dropping the object he was holding onto but after regaining some composure he presented them a black box that contained six metals resting on red velvet. Each metal was composed of a round piece of gold -- which had the same size and thickness of one of the Mono Coins. Each metal featured an engraving of one particular bear and hung from a white ribbon decorated with color coordinated stripes.

Humming, she lifts up the metal depicting Monophanie by the white-and-pink ribbon.

“How cute.” She smiles.

“Alright, so,” Miu begins. “The slots have a special hole in ‘em.” Miu pauses to make a rather perverse face, which Ouma makes a look of utter disgust at. Kaito raises a brow, not entirely sure how to feel about Ouma’s shift in disposition. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices how Shuuichi seems to be shocked by this. If he had to guess, neither of them knew Ouma could switch his personality like this but it must because he has an intense hate for . . . sexual innuendos?

It’s hard to believe with how many he spit in the past. . . Maybe it was him spitting his distaste but it came across as him just screwing around with Miu and getting her off in the process. How unfortunate. . .

“A-Anyway,” Miu continues. “Just slide the coin part of the metal into the slot and you can play a secret game!”

“Well, that obviously sounds shady.” Ryouma huffs.

“Shut the fuck up!” Miu snarls

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“I’ll say.” Everyone freezes in place at the familiar voice. Suddenly, standing beside Miu, was Monokuma. She lets out a shrill scream. Flailing limbs, she runs over to the young woman and hides behind her as Ouma scrambles, hiding behind Kaito, even using the young man’s jacket to further obscure himself. Carefully, Ouma peeks out from behind Kaito. “Who could Have made a rule as silly as that?”

“Y-You obviously!” Miu spits out. Monokuma places a paw to his mouth and tilts his head.

“Whaaat? No way.”

“Don’t fuckin lie!” Miu snarls, starting to get annoyed with the bear. But Monokuma simply stares at her with a void expression before shrugging and saying: _I’m not lying. Monokumas hate lying!_ Which was pretty much bullshit that no one believed. 

“It was just a momento I made for my children in commemoration of the Casino opening!” Monokuma explains. “Go ahead! Use them and you’ll see!” And yet, Shuuichi was able to obtain it and now he’s _encouraging_ them to use it?

[ **\-  DANVAGAS -** ](https://youtu.be/4XLB2GAPfxw)

Regardless of his intentions, Monokuma decides to take his leave, leaving the six students behind. Ryouma lets out another sigh, pulling a box of candy cigarette from his coat.

“Well, let's hope the info is a bust then, huh?” He casually slides a candy cigarette into his mouth. “It’s be troublesome if these metals would become a source of conflict.” She looks to the metal depicting Monophanie between her fingers.”

“Huh. . . Would these metals really cause conflict?”

“Humans are sinful creatures.” Ouma mumbles, pulling Monodam’s metal from the case. “They could simply be petty enough to feel _envious_ of another human and kill them for what they don’t have.” He glances her way, his eyes sharp but oozing with the proof of those sins and how they could destroy someone.

“Perhaps.” She chuckles, taking a seat before one of the slot machines. She swivels the chair to face the machine and glances it over. Finding the slot Miu mentioned, she slides the coin in with ease and thanks to the ribbon, it is unable to slip away from her grasp, firmly staying in place. To everyone’s surprise, the slot machine glass lowers and with a low rumble, the reel begins to rotate, switching with a different set that was decorated with a series of emblems.

“Humans are also creatures of virtue.” She muses out loud as she places her hand on the lever and give it a pull. The reel spills, colors and pictures blur before her very eyes. She tucks her hand under her chin, humming quietly. Her fingers lightly press against the first button. The first reel stops on the image of an golden plum blossom and a branch with a budding flower. 

“But, in all honesty, the living is more than sins or virtues as well. We are creatures of experiences. The feelings we experience and the moments we share,”  With careful languid motions, her hand reaches out and lightly presses the second button. The second reel stops on the same emblem of plum blossoms.

“We should use each moment to make the best of it. Even in death. . . To reunite with those we love or to make amends for our past mistakes. . .” One last time, her fingers press against the button causing the reel to stop on yet another plum blossom.

“So it’s important to keep in mind that there is only one of us. Your existence is precious and the impacts you leave to shape the world could only be done by you. The world has changed because of you, for better or for worse.” And with that said, the red sirens on top of the machine start to sound and flash red, alerting all present that she’s won a jackpot.

“I thought we came here to have fun, not have a lesson on hope philosophy. . .” Ouma mutters, not quite sure how to respond to the young woman’s words. He crosses his arms with a frown and furrowed brows. “Didn’t you lose your talent like everyone else? Or was that some bullshit lie you made up?”

“Hey!” Kaito shouts, raising his fist. He had no intention to actually hit Ouma but it was enough to let a pathetic whimper escape the smaller boy. Kaito immediately regrets even trying to shake his fist in Ouma’s direction. With a sigh he rubs the back of his head. There’s no way his girlfriend was lying about that she lost her talent like everyone else. The panic he saw on her face when they met in the gym this morning was too real.

Besides, even if she couldn’t preach anymore, it was always _her_ morals she was delivering, right? She would always remember those because it was apart of her.

“It’s a fair question.” Ryouma points out but she simply tilts her head to the side.

“I’m sorry but you are mistaken. What I said were _my_ personal beliefs. A friend once said those words and they’ve persisted with me since then. I find that these words ring true to this very day.” Ryouma raises a brow. He clearly looks a tad skeptical but given her character, it checks out. She’s a mother and a preacher first and foremost, but, she’s made it clear that she has zero intentions to hurt anyone. Even when given an advantage over them, she used it to help Shuuichi when he had a panic attack.

“I’ll hold you to that.” He sighs. “Well, since we’re here, and these metal’s work, let’s play a round. We can then give the metals to Kazehaya for safe keeping and none of us will speak of this secret game, alright?”

“Ah, sure. . .” Shuuichi nods. He looks to the young woman, an awkward smile on his face. “You don't mind holding onto the metals, right? I-I agree they would be the safest with you. . .”

“Oh, it wouldn't be a problem at all Saihara-kun!” She smiles with enthusiasm but the boy can't help blinking in confusion.

“H-Huh? Saihara-kun. . .?” She looks back with an equally confused look.

“That _is_ your surname, correct? And weren’t you embarrassed when I called you by your given name?” Shuuichi’s blush gets worse and he begins to play with his hair, a new tick he’s developed in times of anxiety or embarrassment.

“W-Well, yes. . . b-but I’ve become used to it. . . A-At least from you and Momota-kun. . .”

“If it makes you happy, I’ll keep calling you Shuuichi-kun.” She smiles and the poor boy’s heart explodes. Kaito chuckles. His heart filled with warmth and admiration for the young woman that stole his heart. A heart that was full of love and empathy for so many others.

If he was going to be honest, he. . . he was a bit jealous of that. It made his skin crawl with disgust to even _think_ that but it was the truth.

She embodied the ideology of a hero better than he could. Hell, she _is_ a hero. Someone who travels across the Multiverse itself and did good deeds without ever expecting anything in return, but she wasn't prideful about it. She was still humble and caring but still insecure about herself despite all the good she’s done.

She was truly someone amazing and he was lucky to have someone like her love him.

“Scandalous.” Ouma quietly gasps.

“Just grab a metal you guys.” Ryouma sighs, hopping onto a seat. Everyone does as instructed and for the hell of it, Ouma counts down before everyone gives the levers of their respective machine a pull.

It seems each coin has one use as her coin is unable to activate her machine any more. She pouts but lets it be and watches her beloved instead . . . unfortunately Kaito fails almost immediately. He falls to his knees in defeat, slamming his fists against the floor and dramatic tears roll down his face. She giggles a little, kneeling down to give him a comforting hug.

 

* * *

 

_“Hey, Kiriri, did you have fun?”_

_“. . .Ha, yes Kaichii, but never mention that secret game again, please?”_

_“. . .Did you recognize those symbols?”_

_“. . .Hahaha. . .”_

_“K-Kiriri! Are you okay?!”_

_“Yes, I am. . . I was just thinking about how you surprise me. Sometimes, you’re very sharp. . . but given your talent I suppose that much was obvious.” She pauses for a moment, before looking him dead in the eye. “Those were the emblems of the various schools I’ve gone to through out my life. . . The setting for Jackpot was a rather direct insult to me.”_

_“Kiriri. . .”_

_“To think, someone would insult me in such a way. . . I think I’ll have fun knocking them down a peg in time. . .”_

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

“It’s ready.” I state as I slide out of the kitchen with a larger platter covered in dishes of Butter Shoyu Chicken, and following me was Ikiko with a tray of Mame Gohan -- Green Pea Rice. She quickly went about, handing out a bowl to everyone and running back to the kitchen to grab the second tray and continue passing out the food.

Kiibo’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the tender juicy chicken with crispy skin that was covered in a savory glaze and a side dish composed of a bowl full of steaming hot rice mixed with crispy and crunchy peas.

The excited expression on his face warmed my heart a bit. To suddenly have enhanced and incredibly human five senses was a lot to deal with. To be honest, it was probably a bit overwhelming but his eagerness to eat anything I prepared made me happy.

I will admit I went the extra mile for both him and Ouma tonight. Kiibo won’t be human forever so I want his meals to be something memorable while I have the chance to do so. And well, I think Ouma deserves something nice after telling me so much about his past, despite the pain it caused him.

“I made something special for dessert tonight,” I explain with a smile, setting a plate before Ouma. Without waiting for everyone to be served he picks up a slice of chicken with his chopsticks, shouts a hushed ‘itadakimasu!’ and shoves the food into his mouth. It made me smile a bit. He looked so horrible hours ago but now he looked a bit more confident again.

“Aw hell yeah! Your deserts are the best Kiriri!” Kaito beams with enthusiasm. I smile, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek as I placed his plate before him.

“I should keep that in mind then. Anything in particular you like?” Kaito blankly stares back, suddenly uncertain of what to even ask for. I giggle, simply informing him he could tell me his requests at any time. With the dishes passed out, I took a seat and together we cried out: Itadakimasu!

Surprisingly, Maki was present for dinner. Not only had she opted to eat all of her meals in her lab since it was found, she was a robot now.

“Is Ouma a danger or not?”

. . . Ah.

Well, it was a bit obvious that this was still on everyone’s mind. Ouma seated himself at the far end of the table, away from everyone else and no one bothered to sit down next to him. He wasn’t at 100% yet and he was still weary of contact.

“He’s got no **Black Magic**.” Himiko simply states between a bite of her chicken. “He’s got a lot of **White Magic** but it’s premature--”

“LIKE HIS DICK!” Miu cackles. From his end of the table Ouma makes a look of utter disgust and annoyance before shoving more food into his mouth. Sex talk. . . really bothered him, huh?

“Can you not.” I sigh. Miu furrows her brows, clearly wanting to argue but, thankfully, decides its not worth it. “He’s fine. As Yumeno-chan said, his magic is premature but, as it stands, it cannot be weaponized at the moment. Monokuma just fed some inaccurate information to scare everyone into a panic. However, it’s still important that _he_ doesn’t try any insane spells and _no one_ purposely tries to push him over the edge. If everyone can follow those simple rules, everything will be fine.”

Maki’s stance on this wasn’t discernible. After awhile she simply scoffed, turned on her heels and left the dining hall. On the other hand. . . .Gonta beamed with delight.

“Ouma-kun is okay? Gonta is glad that he won’t explode!”  Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Miu really wanted to make a joke. She didn't make it, but instead, she explodes with loud laughter that caused spit to fly.

_she is beauty she is grace_

“Yeah. Let’s go with that.” I mumble, awkwardly scratching my head.

“Why are you so uncertain. . .?” Ikiko questions. I simply shrug. Shuuichi’s eyes dart away. Amami simply consumes his food. Himiko makes a vague attempt at shrugging. “I-I see. . . I guess this is . . . personal for him?”

“Eat your peas Hekoten-chan.”

. . .

Ikiko spent several moments arranging the various wagashis -- ichigo daifuku, rabbit shaped manjū and a dish of warabi mochi drizzled with kuromitsu syrup -- on a small circular silver tray. She then carefully places a cup containing usucha -- a thin variation of green tea -- onto the tray and exits the kitchen quickly and carefully.

I follow behind, using one hand to carefully cradle a cake stand that has a Japanese strawberry shortcake sitting on top of it and use my other hand to transport a tray with fourteen clean plates, eating utensils and a cake cutter.

Just like the wagashis, the desert was freshly made this afternoon. The shortcake was moist and light, iced with a creamy homemade icing which was decorated with fresh slices of strawberries and blueberries. It was a sight to behold. It would be a lie to say I was feeling a bit prideful to see everyone looking at my desert with glittering eyes. I wasn't as good at cooking like some of my husbands, who usually did cooking duty, but I was always amazing at baking.

However, I allowed Ikiko to step forward and offer her tray of goods to Ouma. His purple eyes blink in confusion before looking between the tray and Ikiko.

“What. . . is this?” He questions pointing to the deserts. Ikiko awkwardly fiddles with the sleeve of her sui. She glances to her shoes for a few moments before looking back at Ouma.

“It’s an apology for what I said this morning. . .” She softly admits. “I felt bad for accusing you of wanting this Killing Game to keep going. . . You, um, looked as scared as any of us. . .”

“I don't _do_ scared.” He quickly counters, as if that’s going to save the shambles of his image. . . but Ikiko smiles innocently, threading her fingers together.

I’m sorry Ouma but your image is _fucking_ murdered. You're too human to everyone now to see you as some evil tyrant. . . but I doubt that's gonna stop him from trying once he gets his proper talent back.

“Of course not. . .” Ikiko lightly giggles. “but I do think you’re very kind. The words you said to me after Shi-chan’s death have stayed with me.” To everyone’s surprise, her voice is firm. Not sad or weepy like anyone would have anticipated for such a grim subject. “Truthfully, everyone’s words have but your’s have stuck out the most. . . I have to keep living to Shi-chan, but I can’t spend all my time crying or moping. I-I have to move forward too.”

Ouma looks baffled by this development. Like he never expected his words to leave such an impact on anyone. And. . . I never noticed how distressed Ikiko was after the trial. I feel kinda bad about that. I don’t even _understand_ why I ran off when I first met her either. I probably haven’t left a good impression on her at all. . .

I let out a sigh before carefully setting its items in my hands down. I cut a slice of cake and placed it before Ouma.

“If anyone is interested, Hekoten-chan can brew a nice cup of green tea.”

“I-I’m not that great at preparing tea. . .” I shrug.

“Better than me.”

“Gonta would like tea!” The towering male exclaims, his arm shooting up in the air. Kiibo follows in suit, jumping to his feet. A few others voiced their desire for tea as well as I handed out more slices of cake. I brought the last two slices back to my seat, handing one of them to Kaito. As usual, his grin was infectious. He stabbed his fork into the desert and took a huge bite out of it, practically _moaning_ with each bite. On the other hand, I simply cut the pastry from the icing to save the best for last -- a strange habit I’ve developed in my childhood.

Once I finished off the last of my cake Kaito leaned over to deliver a light kiss to my lips. I let out a tiny squeak but he grinned, licking his lips and remarking how sweet I was. Embarrassed, I lightly slapped at his shoulder. He simply laughs and commenting on how I was adorable.

_Little did we know, disaster was coming. . ._

“This . . .!” Kiibo gasps. Ikiko looks a bit alarmed. Did she brew it wrong . . .? “This smells just like Saihara-kun! Old books and green tea!!”

_D I S A S T E R_

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/Hs_QtQkxpFE)

As I watched Shuuichi and Kaito continued their work out, I let out a small sigh. Doing fifty push-ups was a little too easy for me considering what work I usually did. That didn't stop Kaito from complaining about it. What a dweeb. That I’m dating. . . .My dweeb. God. I love him so much.

Kaito called for a break once he reached twenty-five, which by that time, Shuuichi managed to complete his set of fifty. Just barely. I find myself snorting, passing a bottle of water to the two of them. Exhausted, Kaito cracks his bottle of water open and chugs down a great volume of it.

“So, what the hell is up with Ouma?” Kaito demands once he pulls the bottle away from his lips. Shuuichi and I glance to each other before looking back to Kaito.

“So, speaking from . . .teacher-student confidentiality. . .” I begin. Kaito raises a brow. “It’s not doctor-patient. It’s the next best phrase here. Regardless, my theory of Ouma being an orphan was correct, just, in the worst way possible. . .” I let out a sigh, explaining as much of about Ouma’s past without putting it all out in the open. Ouma’s past should be revealed, in detail, by himself and to someone he trusts. When I finished delivering the information to Kaito I noted that he looked rather pale. 

“ _Shit_ .” He hissed. “What the _hell_ kind of life is that? Christ. I feel like the biggest asshole. . .”

“You. . . No, _no one_ had anyway of knowing what Ouma-kun’s background actually was.” Shuuichi explains, trying to console his friend.

“He’s right.” I add. “I was running on a theory for a long time. If we didn't get this crazy motive I probably never would have gotten confirmation. . . And it’s not like this truth negates any bad things he’s done. It only gives us an explanation and a chance to understand the person under the lies he makes to protect himself.”

“Lying to protect himself. . .” Shuuichi mumbles. “His brother. . . His brother must have hurt him pretty badly that he needs to lie to keep himself together.”

“. . .Considering my experience with Hibiki, it certainly wasn’t a good time. I had magic at least, and enough training to properly protect myself. . .but Ouma. . .

“He didn’t have that at all.” Kaito sweats, rubbing the back of his hand against his chin. “Fucking. . . I bet. . . I bet he was a happy kid. . . but having to live while watching your family die. . . At the hands of your own brother no less and be held captive, as his prisoner, for years. . . It’s so fucked up. . .”

I mean, it’s entirely possible that the Ouma twins had a mildly normal childhood for a year or two, until they left the toddler development stage. By that age, Tamekichi may have already heard, and to an extend, understood what the **Crawling Chaos** demanded from him and realized his power. . . .Things would have really gone down hill by the time cognitive and motor skills kicked in because that gave Tamekichi the power to as he wanted. . .

“Oi, Shuuichi,” Kaito calls. The two of us pull away from our thoughts and look to Kaito with confusion. Kaito’s expression looks a bit more serious. “Something wrong? You look like you're in pain.” Shuuichi glances to the side with a frown.

“I. . .I have a theory. . . on something, but I don't wish to talk about it.” He quietly confesses. “Not now. . . Not when I’m. . . not a detective.” His hands curl into fists and he clenches his teeth. Whatever is on his mind is weighing down on him, and even if he’s insecure about his talent, he seems. . .to be even more uncertain without in this moment.

“What’s important is that we don't treat Ouma-kun any differently.” I explain. “Maybe gentler in other aspects and observe him to make sure he’s alright but I doubt he’ll enjoy feeling babied or having people dance around him because of what happened in the past. Basically, don't treat him like shit but don't treat him as if he can't do anything. Unless he states otherwise, it’s important to let him live because he’s still a human at the end of the day.”

“Yeah, I’ll _try_ but I’m still worried about him, ya know?”

“I’m sure everyone is after how he acted when Monokuma tried to force the bracer onto him.” Shuuichi reminds him. Kaito grunts in agreement before deciding to flop backwards, sprawling himself out on the cobblestone. I laugh a little, poking at him with my foot.

“What’s with you?”

“The stars in the sky look beautiful.” He rolls onto his side, balancing his head against a fist. “But not as dazzling as the stars before me.” Both Shuuichi and myself flush red. Shuuichi hides his face in his hands, unable to look either of us in the eye, while I lightly smack at Kaito with my foot. He obnoxiously laughs it off,

Much to my surprise, he grabs me by my ankle to prevent any more kicking, and pulls me right into his lap. My left leg ends up awkwardly laying in the crook of his right arm and his hand rests on me upper thigh. My face explodes with red but he still has that stupid cheeky grin on his face as he celebrates his little victory.

“What is this. . .?” All three of us freeze. I hope to _god_ Shuuichi’s face was still in his hands because I think I’d die if he saw me in Kaito’s lap like this at the moment. Kaito slowly turns is body to look behind him and I peer over his shoulder to see. . . Tenko standing there.

She. . . she really looked ready to kill Kaito.

“Hey, Tenko. . .” I begin slowly, awkwardly waving at her. She stared back, her body trembling to stop herself from exploding.

“Why . . . why are you two in such a lewd position. . . with Saihara-kun watching. . .?” Her face suddenly flushes red and she lets out a gasp. “I-Is this vouristic public sex?!” Shuuichi lets out a sharp gasp, peeking between his fingers to see what going on while I clung to my boyfriend, who was a few shades lighter and looked utterly mortified, and I let out a series of loud awkward laughs with a flushed face.

“No! We aren't! We were exercising!” I hastily attempt to explain, clutching Kaito’s body a little tighter.

“Push-ups!” Kaito eloquently adds.

“Exercising. . . in _that_ position. . .?”

“W-We weren’t!” Kaito exclaims. “We took a break and I just, uh, p-pulled her into my lap. . .” The more he spoke, the shyer he became to the point that Kaito’s words tapered off all together.

“Tenko would call you all heterosexuals. . .” Tenko side eyes Shuuichi for a moment before looking back to Kaito and myself. “But you are clearly not.” She. . . she probably knows he’s into Shuuichi and Shuuichi isn’t very good at hiding his feelings. . .Their interactions were . . . uh, pretty gay.

“. . .While Tenko is here, she wishes to talk to Kazehaya-san, is that alright?” I awkwardly slide out of my boyfriend’s lap and sit on the cobblestone. After a moment of thought, Tenko follows the motion, sitting down beside me and the four of us made a small circle.

“Sure thing,” I laugh. “What’s on your mind?” 

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

“Tenko wishes to thank you for befriending Yumeno-san. . .” I blink. Not quite sure how to take in this information.

“Huh. . .?” I find myself dumbly asking. “Yumeno-chan. . . she, she uh, kinda asked to be friends with me. . .?” That’s. . . one way to define what happened. She did approach me first, but it was more about my magic than me although. . . but, things have changed since then.

“Tenko thought so.” She admits with. . . reluctance? I don't really understand why she’s acting this way. . . “If possible, Tenko would like it, if you could continue being her friend Kazehaya-san, and help Yumeno-san open her heart.”

“Open her heart. . .?” I repeat dumbfounded.

“Yumeno-san suppresses her emotions. . . She says it’s too troublesome. . . wouldn’t that be a threat to her magic . . .?”

“. . .Yeah.” I sigh, crossing my arms. “Crossing off your emotions, acting as if they don't exist, it will come back to bite you as emotions and magic are correlated. You can easily assess someone’s state when they use magic. . .”

“. . .Then, the only one who can help Yumeno-san is you.”

“Uh. . . Why me?” Maybe there’s something I’m missing, but why would I be the only one able to make Himiko open her heart to others and let her express herself. Isn’t Tenko and Angie her friends?

“Don’t you know?” Kaito questions, his arms crossed with a baffled expression. “She hardly talks to anyone. It’s almost impossible for anyone to get a read on her.” What the fuck. This is pretty much the opposite of our interactions. She always spoke with a conviction when we interacted. . . Was this because we spoke of magic or something else all together. . .?

“I don't think Kazehaya-san has ever personally spoken . . . to the other side of Yumeno-san.” Shuuichi hesitantly offers. “Without questioning, she accepted the magic aspect of her and Yumeno-san opened up in an instant.”

Oh. God. It really _was_ something else, wasn’t it? Sitting here and thinking about things, this honestly sounds a lot like autism? I think? I’m no expert on the subject, but I know some traits of it from an autistic friend. A lack of interaction or desire to interact with peers, or being easily overloaded . . . and hyper fixated on favorite things. In Himiko’s case, it was magic. So all along, it wasn’t her past life shining through. It was her being _excited_ to talk to someone that could _understand_ magic in a way that she could.

Then, if that’s the case, maybe I really am the only one with leverage that could help Himiko open up to others. . .? Well, I know I can't do it alone, but maybe I can make a big enough impact that she’ll want more people in her life. I honestly have no idea how this could turn out. . .

“If that’s the case, I’ll try my best, but everyone else needs to put in an effort in too. It might help if she knows there are people that still want to be friends with her.”

“Of course!” Tenko joyviouly cheers. “Tenko will never give up! She wishes to become someone important to Yumeno-san! She’s such a wonderful person! Tenko wishes to know everything about her!” How incredibly gay. But Tenko’s honesty and enthusiasm for the other girl was rather precious. She came on a little strong, but I could tell she really did love and adore Himiko and had an honest and genuine intention to learn all about her. In all honesty, it made me want to work just a little harder so her dream could come true.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Everything -** ](https://youtu.be/Hgmc2G-vDGE)

Sleep was a bit complicated for Shuuichi. He was really worried for Ouma, something that surprised himself a bit. Before today, he didn’t exactly know much about the boy, or if what he knew was the truth. . . However, it turned out bits and pieces of it were true but the truth was far worse than he could have imagined.

No matter what, he couldn't remove the image of Ouma’s shaking and trembling body hiding in his arms. He wasn’t strong like he tried to present himself as. He was scared. Scared like the rest of them, perhaps even worse. He can only dread what his brother did to him while in captivity.

Shuuichi had ideas and none of them were pretty.

Kazehaya-san said Ouma’s brother was the **Child of Lust** after all. . . If Ouma was his prisoner, what’s stopping him from assaulting Ouma? Or -- maybe, hopefully -- he didn't touch Ouma but Ouma heard the screams and pleads of those his brother assaulted.

God.

How twisted can he be to wish these kinds of things. . .? Either option is terrible but both explain so much. Ouma’s fear of having others touch him. His distaste for sexual talk in general. Shuuichi honestly and desperately hopes that neither happened to Ouma.

Shuuichi rolls onto his side, covering his head with his pillow as if that will block out the negative intrusive and worrisome thoughts swarming him. . . it unfortunately does very little for him. He’s truly worried for Ouma and he wishes he could do something for the smaller male. He wants to hold Ouma. He wants to protect Ouma. He wants to let him know everything will be okay.

He. . .

Heat rises to his face and Shuuichi shoves his face into his pillow. Ugh. He has no idea where such thoughts came from . . .

“Hey. .  .Saihara-chan. . .?” Shuuichi nearly flips out of his skin at the sound of the soft voice reaching out to him. He quickly opens his eyes to find Ouma crouching at the side of his bed, his timid purple eyes looking at him while his fingers nervously play with the sheet.

“O-Ouma-kun. . . ! How. . .How did you get in here?!” Ouma awkwardly glances away, staring at nothing in particular on the floor.

“’S not important. . .” He mumbles. “Can I. . . Can I stay for the night? Please?” On instinct, Shuuichi wants to shout no. He still doesn't know Ouma all that well, even after all he’s learned today and it will most likely end horribly. . . but again, he’s haunted by the image of the crying boy as those timid purple eyes look up at him. He. . . He can't find it in himself to say no to Ouma.

Shuuichi lets out a sigh and for a moment, Ouma looks . . . heartbroken, thinking he’s been rejected, but Shuuichi lifts up the sheets and moves to the other side of the bed to make room for the other. The shorter boy lights up in and instant, climbing into the bed with a smile on his face. He looks genuinely overjoyed.

It brings a fresh layer of red to Shuuichi’s face and without thinking about it, he lifts a hand to brush the long wavy strands of Ouma’s dark hair behind his ear so he could see his face better. Realizing what he’s done, Shuuichi make a rather awkward expression . . . but Ouma isn’t disturbed. He carefully brings Shuuichi’s hovering hand to his cheek and leans into the touch.

“If it’s my beloved Saihara-chan. . . I don't mind. . . his touch is so warm and loving. . .” Gently, he moves Shuuichi’s hand closer to his mouth so he is able to kiss the palm of the other’s hand. “I. . .I haven't felt as safe as this in a long time. . .” Those words give Shuuichi courage. He swallows down his fear and -- gently, softly -- he rests his hand on Ouma’s cheek and he tenderly strokes the skin. Ouma leans into his touch once more, whispering his name with a dreamy sigh.

“Shuuichi-chan. . .” Shuuichi is sure he’s just hit cardiac arrest. The warm, gentle and loving way Ouma sighs his name is just. . . It’s too much for his poor heart. Ouma grins, not his usual mischievous look, but a simple happy smile and he moves just a bit closer to Shuuichi in order to rest close to the beating heart of his beloved. Carefully, Shuuichi strokes Ouma’s hair lulling him into a sleep before he too drifts off, his face resting on top of the other’s head.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dinner
> 
> Dinner: Butter Shoyu Chicken
> 
> Side Dish: Mame Gohan (Green Pea Rice)
> 
> Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake
> 
> Drink: Green Tea
> 
>  
> 
> Headcanon of himiko being autistic really stood out to me and this is what inspired it??
> 
> http://oumakokichi.tumblr.com/post/156372704135/im-really-loving-your-analysis-mate-since-youve


	22. {02} (Un)Ordinary Days {09}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> something early because i got a job now and i wont be home on friday until like late afternoon so fuck it
> 
> heres a nice big ol chapter

* * *

 

**June 29th; Day 10**

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/rCd216oI82E)

“Hello everyone!” Monokuma greets, suddenly appearing in the dining hall. I nearly inhaled my spoon because it was so unexpected. Everyone pause for a moment before reluctantly waiting for something to happen. As for Ouma, he completely ignored the bear in favor of eating his food.

“What do you want this time?” I find myself questioning in an exhausted tone.

“No screams of terror? I’m appalled.” Monokuma gasps, placing a paw on his chest.

“You’re kinda getting annoying at this point.” Kaito sighs. “Like a little kid.”

“I’m eight years old! So shut the fuck up!” Monokuma furiously shouts, raising his paws in the air.

“What do you want?” Ouma repeats, spitting the question like venom.

“Yes! Tenko has a busy schedule to attend to!” Tenko adds. Monokuma makes a rather upset and offended expression.

“You’re all terrible! I just wanted to tell you about the cultural festival!!”

“The. . . cultural festival?” Ikiko repeats. Everyone looked a bit doubtful that we could pull off such an event with so little of us. Who would the festival even be for? We don’t exactly have anyone to showcase our talents for. . .

“Yeah! You gotta host one for my little cubs!”

Oh no.

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

 

 **“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

GodDAMNIT.

The bears are FUCKING IN.

“A festival! That sounds fun!” Monophanie beams.

“It will be a good experience for them.” Monosuke chuckles. “ _If_ one of these losers manage to escape, they’ll need the experience in how to handle running a business. Like a proper adult.”

“MAN, I HOPE THE GIRLS PUT ON A HOT SHOW!” Monokid shouts, playing a loud rift on his guitar.

“1T-W1LL-B3-4N-3XC3LL3NT-B0ND1NG-3XP3R13NC3.” Monodam adds and after a moment of thought he follows with: “. . .1T-S0UNDS-L1KE-FUN.”   

“Yes, so, should nothing go wrong, we will have this festival on . . . uhhhh, July 4th. A week from now. That should be enough time to prepare.” Monokuma approaches the white board and flips it over, to reveal he’s prepared a time table chart for this insane event. It was rather rough and ugly to look at.

  | 

**10AM**

| 

**11AM**

| 

**12PM**

| 

**1PM**

| 

**2PM**

| 

**3PM**

| 

**4PM**

| 

**5PM**

| 

**6PM**  
  
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---  
  
**DAY 1**

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)  
  
**DAY 2**

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (1) SNACK (2)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)

| 

MAID (2) SNACK (1)  
  
**DAY 3**

| 

PLAY

|   | 

PLAY

|   | 

PLAY

|   | 

DANCE

| 

DANCE

| 

DANCE  
  
“As you can see, I kindly created a schedule for you, my dear students! The festival will be carried out over the course of three days and start everyday at 10AM, continuing until 6PM. There _must_ be a maid cafe and a haunted house!

“Aren’t those overdone?” I find myself asking.

“They’re _staples_ of the festival you idiot!” . . . Fair? Those are the two things mostly discussed in Japanese media. Monokuma clears his throat. “Anyway, There will be _one_ snack stand for those on the go. And participation in the dance in mandatory. Actually, participation in general is mandatory.”

“Why the _FUCK_ is it mandatory?” Miu demands. Monokuma tilts his head as if she asked a real dumb question.

“Because I said so? Isn’t that obvious? Now, uh, which one of you is the artist again?” Amami’s hand raises into the air.

“That would be me.” His simile seems innocent but he honestly looks like he’s ready to cut down that bear.

“Okay, since you’re the artist, you get to handle all the artsy things. Also one of the three to work at the Haunted House. Everyone else will need to line up to pull their job from the raffle!!” Monodam suddenly pulls a tall hexagon shaped wooden box -- the box used for Karakuri Omikujis if I’m recalling right -- and at the top is a single hole.

“PL34S3-SH4K3-TH3-B0X-4ND-DR4W-4-M1KUJ1-B0.”

. . .And reluctantly, we did so.

I ended up pulling a Mikuji-bo labeled with COOK 1’. Alright. So I was cooking something. . .but for what? Monokuma wasn't talking so I guess I had to wait until everyone drew their sticks and the results followed as such. Several moments passed before everyone was done, causing Monokuma to jump onto the table with glee.

“Those with ‘COOK’ will be working alongside ‘MAID’ and ‘SNACK’ of the same number. COOK obviously cooks for the Maid Cafe and for the Snack Stand.” His grin grew bigger and with a snicker he began where he left off “MAID is, you guessed it, our lucky Maid for the Maid Cafe!!” A wheezing sound, followed by a scoff, came from the crowd and all eyes turned to the source. . .

To find Shuuichi looking rather embarrassed, his cheeks a bright red with his hand cupping his mouth, and Ryouma was rather pissed off.

Oh.

Oh my god.

S-So I would be working alongside Shuuichi. . . while he was in a maid costume. This is both a dream and a nightmare. I’m sure he would look pretty all dolled up but oh my god I don't think my heart could ever handle that. . . . And I don't think I was the only one to feel that. Kaito, Amami, Kiibo and Ouma couldn’t look in Shuuichi’s direction and they were all blushing.

“Those with ‘PLAY’ will put a play together and perform it together!”

“I hope it has romance!” Monophanie chimes in.

“4ND-FR13NDSH1P.” Monodam adds. Monokid shouted about how that was stupid but no one really acknowledged it.

“‘BREAKROOM’ obviously means you will arrange a nice little break room for everyone to relax in. After all, it’s not fair to have our workers so stressed out!”

“I-I guess,” Ouma sighs, looking at his Mikuji-bo with a rather bored, if not awkward, expression.

“Just as obviously, “HAUNTED HOUSE’ means you’ll be working on the haunted house and ‘CARNIVAL’ will work on the carnival games!! So, now that you all know your roles, time to get cracking!” For emphasis, Monokuma claps his paws together and departs. The cubs remain behind, but only for Monodam to hand the remaining Mikuji-bo and informing me it was now my responsibility to pass it along to the only one that was absent -- Maki.

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

With the bears gone, I erased Monokuma’s trashy timetable and jotted down the names and jobs I knew others had for certain.

“I’ll pull together a better timetable later. I gotta go see Harukawa-chan to deliver the. . .uh, news,” I explain. “In the meantime, y’all can add your names to the board and work on some themes for the dance.”

. . .

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

I hate how I never thought about it until now.

In my vision, Maki was killed in her lab but I never once thought _where_ the weapons came from. In retrospect, it was fucking obvious. It was her lab.

Still, in that vision, she was clearly human, so, maybe I’ve changed the future already but, at the same time, there’s no proof saying that event wasn't going to happen further into the future. After all, her cautious attitude would only serve to make others curious . . .and if that was the case. I would need her cooperation to prevent that from happening.

Arriving at the third floor I swiftly made my way to the door of her lab, banging my fist against the hardwood of the door. It took a couple of minutes before she answered, open the door just a crack and her sharp optics glared at me.

“ _What_?” She sharply demands.

“I lied about having your talent.” I begin. . . I then pause, not sure how to continue this. I came as quickly as I could but I never stopped to think how would I even go about explaining this. I take a glance around, making sure the halls were clear before I looked back to her. “I lied because I know the real one.” If it was possible, her expression became deadlier. Gulping, I tightened my grasp on the strap of my purse and pushed forward. “ **Super High School Level Assassin**. . . That’s your real talent.” I’m not sure if its reflex but Maki’s metallic hand shoots out the crack of the door and grabs me around my neck. . . but her fury on her face does not match the strength she’s putting into her attempt to choke me.

It’s kinda pathetically weak. . . like. . . an old--

Oh.

So, not only did she inherit Kiibo’s talent but also his strength.

“Okay, first of all,” I begin, easily prying the metallic hand from my neck. “Rude.” With an aggravated huff, Maki yanks her her back. “Secondly, I just wanted to talk.”

“Like hell I’ll just stand here and let you blackmail me.” she scoffs. “I knew your goody-two shoes bullshit was just a cover to take advantage of others. I know your type.”

“. . .Again, rude.” I mutter. Well. I should have expected her to be a bit defensive about this. Being an assassin does not have positive connotations. “I just wanted to talk about letting me fix your lab.” Maki gives me a dubious expression, staring at me for a while before simply asking: Fix my lab?

“I had a vision of you dying. . . . dead in your lab.” I softly admit, unable to look her in the eyes. “I. . .I don't think your a bad person. Even with the knowledge of your talent.”

“And was it this vision that told you of my so called talent?” Her voice is still sharp, untrusting of me. But it doesn't matter. All that matters is that she agrees to let me help fix her lab.

“No. . . That was something else.” I admit. Maki stares at me for several long moments before opening the door wide enough to pull me into the room. She pokes her head into the hall, glancing around to make sure no one was about. Seeing the hall empty, she shuts the door once more.

The floor was stone cold, cases of weapons neatly stacked against an iron gate that had racks of assorted weapons -- knives, guns, chainsaws, mallets, axes, you name it it was there -- racks were covered with guns of various sizes and styles and there was an actual shooting range.

I had my work cut out for me. . .

“How did you know?” Maki questions causing me to look back at her.

“Ah. . .It was the **original motive** that told me.”

“The _what_?”

“On the day of the pool party. . .I woke up early for some reason and I found. . .” I pause to reach into my purse, pulling out one of the Monokubz Pads. “One of these. They play videos, showcasing everyone’s genuine talents and people they’re close to. . . I received your own. According to Monodam they were all scrambled. . .” She takes the pad from me and watches the video in silence. The volume is loud enough for me to hear exactly what’s being said. . .

Apparently Maki’s orphanage was a hole and barely running on donations. At some point, a group of men from some . . .cult -- I think? -- appeared, planning to using the orphanage to scout future candidates to train as assassins. And if the orphanage didn't cooperate with them, they would lose _all_ funding. A total dick move imo. In order to save her orphanage and the other children, Maki became an assassin.

That’s pretty harsh situation for a kid. . .

“. . . **You used a favor to change the motive** , right?” Maki questions, shoving the Monokubz Pad into my stomach. I winced a bit but returned the item to my purse before rubbing the back of my head.

“Yeah. . . That’s what I did.” I admit. Maki stares at me for a white. If I had to guess, she was simply trying to understand my actions. I awkwardly glance to the side as I’m suddenly at a loss of what to do.

“You said I didn't seem like a bad person. Even if I’m an assassin. . .” I nod my head. She narrows her optics. “Are you stupid?” I dumbly blink.

“Huh?”

“Your actions don't make sense.” Like she did when she was stressed and human, she bites at her thumb. “You’re all about protecting people, right? But why the hell would you protect me? I kill people for a living.” There’s . . . a painfully dull resignation in her voice. As if she’s resigned to living a lonely life where she will simply suffer all for the sake of an orphanage she doesn’t even live in anymore.

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

“. . . What are to talking about?” I question with exasperation. “You were the one who called me out on a bleeding heart, weren't you? Then shouldn't the answer be obvious? I want to help you because I care about you too.”

“. . .What?” Maki’s voice comes out sharp and a bit glitched. It was probably the most illogical thing she’s ever heard in her life. For someone to value her, even after the discovery of a fighting talent, sounded like something out of a fantasy for her. I fold my hands together, awkwardly playing with them as they got sweaty due to nerves.

“To be honest, I had a feeling you weren't a nursery teacher for a while. The way you carried yourself and how you spoke about how similar and yet different we are. . . it was enough to tip me off.”

“But it was the video that confirmed it.”

“Yeah. . .” I mumble, looking to my shoes for a moment. Finding the words I needed, I look into Maki’s optics once more. “Even so, I still believe in you. If you wanted to hurt us, you already would have done so. You’re like the rest of us, you don't want to die. And it’s not like you willingly became assassin. You did it because you were forced to do so. To protect your orphanage and all those children. . . even if you didn't like kids, you didn't want to abandon them. To me, that shows a great deal of character. . . It shows me that Maki Harukawa is not a soulless monster!”

Maki is silent and she avoids looking my way. It almost feel like I said something wrong before she glances my way and gives me an awkward looking smile that looks more like a grimace than anything.

“Then, what’s your plan?”

“Huh?”

“For the lab. How do you intend to hide all of this?” She motions to the various guns lining the wall and weapons about. I even noticed a number of knives stabbed into a table. Perhaps her own doing in a fit of rage when she saw this very room.

“Well, I can easily store all of the weapons and create a seal to prevent Monokuma from entering your lab and replacing whatever we removed. Other than that I’ll need some supplies.”

“What kind of supplies?” With a hum, I cross my arms and imagine a design for the room. Something simple but with enough that displays her ‘talent’.

“Uh,” I motion to a nook where the three sides of the wall was surrounded by racks full of guns. “I’ll need wood to make bookshelves in that corner and paper for posters and books.” Moving along, I point out the tall cabinet that contains a red cloak and _more_ guns. “We can fill this with supplies and games.”

“And this here,” I make a motion to the area before the gate where numerous weapons are stacked. “I can adjust the size of the table by the door and make this the seating area, for activities and lessons.” I glance back to the table by the door. “We can use that space for a little housekeeping area. So we need _more_ wood.”

And all that was left was to do something about the shooting range. Which was simple, a nap time area. For that to work I could easily reshape and mold the plastic dummies to make a wall that would easily fit in place over the counter of the range, thus easy observation for children. I would also need a ton of cloth for carpets and sleeping mats.

It would take time but this would be a manageable project if Maki and I worked together.

 

* * *

 

 

It took an insane amount of hours to get the job done.

Maki refused to let me leave the lab while she went to the warehouse to get supplies in order to keep the room protected but because of her strength it took a ridiculous amount of trips and a number of rests for her to recharge to continue again.

While she took care of that I spent time boxing and storing all of the variety of weapons into the black hole that was my purse. With them out of the way the room had more than enough room for me to work with while using my magic to bring my vision to life.

It took two hours from there to finish the final touches in order to bring the Nursery School to life. Maki’s amazed expression made all of the exhaustion I was feeling worth it but it also reminded me how out of practice I was with **Wood Magic**. I really need to get some help with **Black Magic** , geez.

During our work the nighttime announcement played but neither of us really cared for it. At this time, there was one last step before we could leave and officially finish the job. I pulled a knife out of my purse and press the blade against the palm of my hand. Use the blood that oozes from my palm I draw the **Blooming Hart** on the door.

The sigil glows white before a resounding **CLICK** echoes in the room. A smile makes its way across my face and I turn to Maki, still grinning like a fool.

“The deed is done!”

“. . .You are truly the biggest idiot I’ve met, as terrible as your boyfriend, but. . . Thank you.” I gaze upon Maki with a dumb expression. She blinks back before the LED lights under her synthetic skin causes pink to appear on her face. She began to play with the hair of one of her ponytails and it was the cutest shit I’ve ever seen. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Haha. . . no reason.” I cough into my closed fist. Maki looks doubtful but she does not question it. Quietly, the two of us made our way out of the down the stairs and through the halls of the campus. Needless to say, the school building was much creepier during the night. During the day, it at least felt alive. . . But to see a huge place so empty and devoid of life. . . it was so unsettling.

“Hey,” Maki suddenly calls out. I hum in response to show her she has my attention. “Do you know who got my talent?”

“Uh. . . believe it or not, Gonta did.” Maki stops dead in her tracks, giving me an incredulous look.

“Gonta?” She echos.

“Well, since you said your talent is childcare and I immediately said I had that talent now, Gonta went through a process of elimination and thought he had Amami’s talent. . . He, uh, asked me if Amami had a hunting talent.” I awkwardly glance to the side, once again feeling ashamed for lying to Gonta of all people. “I told him Amami specialized in like, finding searching and missing people -- like a missing person investigator.”

“. . .What _is_ Amami’s talent for that matter?”

“No idea, but whatever it is. . . I think I have it?”

“ _You think_?”

“Well, that’s the problem isn’t it?” I sigh, uselessly shrugging my shoulders. “No one knows what Amami-kun’s talent is and I’ve cycled through all the other possible options. **Hekoten-chan is the resident Inventor now; Kaichii has Gonta's talent and he has yours while you're obviously a robot. Angie is -- sadly -- Supreme Leader. I’m pretty sure Tenko has Hoshi-kun’s talent** , the way she moved to defend Ouma-kun was too reminiscent of the flash step he used on me. . . and **Amami-kun admitted to being an Artist today**.” I give Maki a serious look, raising a finger as I made my point. “That leaves behind Calligraphy, Aikido, Anthropology, Magician, Astronaut, Detective or Amami’s unknown talent as possibilities for myself -- but I’m not talented in any of those known talents. The only logical conclusion I could make from that is that **I have Amami’s unknown talent**.”

“That’s assuming that no one was lying.” Maki scoffs. Despite the negative impression she’s giving off, she closes her optics and looks a bit impressed. “Still, if you don't feel any different, wouldn’t that imply Amami has a talent that you posses?”

“I have no idea. . . I do travel a lot but he said Traveler is off the table. . .”

“Yeah, that seems right. Amami seems like someone with a **mission**.”

“A mission . . .” I repeat, humming softly bringing a finger to my lip in thought. Then, applying what I _do_ know about Amami and about myself. . . Very athletic, hardly gets winded by anything and he’s got sharp analytical skills. I have raw strength and a variety of power. I’m not as sharp as him or Shuuichi when it comes to picking up details, but I am pretty good with that. It came with my missions. . .

Wait.

My missions. A number of them required me to comb out environments and understand them. . . like. . . " **An Adventurer** . . .?”

“Adventurer?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense!” I exclaim, a grin tugging at my face. To travel to so many places but never for his personal interest, for something else. For a mission! He was adventuring across the land for that very mission! I could only wonder what that mission was.

However. . . That would have to wait, for the moment we pushed open the doors of the academy we were greeted with a terrible sight.

[ **\- Body Discovery E -** ](https://youtu.be/bmnuLrMGYKE)

Laying on the steps of the academy in an awkwardly arranged mess, with blood oozing from their head, was the body of **Rantarou Amam, the Super High School Level Adventurer** , in a puddle of his own blood.

Before I could even stop myself, a scream escaped, piercing the air. I hurry over to his side, nearly tripping over some stuffed orca plush laying on the floor, matted with some of his blood.

“Amami! Amami-kun!” I shout, falling to my knees and shaking his body. I could feel heat burning my face and water swarm my vision. No way. . . He really. . . .He really couldn’t be gone. . .I still couldn’t believe the sight before me. Even if I last saw him hours ago and anything could have happened since then, I didn't want to . . . This can’t be. . .!

“He’s breathing.” Maki sharply points out. I pause, slowly absorbing her words and forcing the developing tears back. I take a moment to observe his body but. . . she’s right. His torso is rising and lowering with each breath he struggles to take.

“Holy shit. . .! Amami! C’mon, talk to me!” I beg, I place my hands on his shoulders. I roll him onto his backside to be greeted with a sight I never expected.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

“Ghhhhh. . . . . WAAAAAAAAAHHH!” I screech in utter horror. The sound echoed around in the darkness around us. My legs gave out under the shock and I scrambled back, a bit disturbed by my discovery. Someone had taken a knife, or some other sharp object, to Amami’s face -- slashing most of right side of his face to a horrible mess. His face would most certainly scar once it healed up. . . and vision through the right eye would be impossible. The damage was too significant. Too gruesome to look at. It made my stomach churn with sickness.

“. . .Kazehaya. . .san ?” Amami whispers. His one good eye opens and he struggles to turn his head in my direction. I hurriedly shuffle closer to his side so he didn’t have to look my way and . . . deal with an unfortunate accident of his eye falling from his socket. I take his hand into my own before placing the other one on top. He gives me a hint of a smile before asking the stupidest thing possible in his condition: “Is the Yacchi okay?” My face falls and a thousand thoughts are screaming in my head. His face is sliced up and his right eye is. . . is a _fucking_ ** _soupy mess_** and he wants to know if some _thing_ called Yacchi is _okay_?

“ _What?!_ ” I wheeze out in an incredulous tone. He laughs but there’s no real mirth to it. It was like he was making the sound in an attempt to calm me down. It failed miserably.

“I was trying so hard. . . t-to win it for Ouma-kun. . .” He coughs for a moment and I flinch at the sight of red dribbling down his chin. “It would be a shame if it was damaged. . .”

“W-What?! Don’t talk you idiot. . .! You’re straining yourself!” Amami laughs, weakly waving his free hand.

“Whaaaat? No. . . ’m fine. . .but. . .if I do pass away. . . can you do me a favor. . .?”

“Amami _please_.” I beg, taking back one of my hands in order to search for the First Aid Kit inside my purse but he isn't listening. He weakly laughs once more, a strained smile on his face.

“Can you find my little sisters in my place. . .? I’m certain. . . they’re still out there. . . lost and scared. . .” His voice quietly fades and his one good eye closes as his grasp on my hand slips away. My only comfort is that his chest is still moving with each labored breath he takes. I furiously, resume my search as tears begin to fall anew.

“What are you doing?” Maki questions.

“Fucking. . . something!” I exclaim, reeling around to her. “I-I can’t leave him like this! Like, First Aid or something!”

“First Aid won’t do anything for injuries like that. He needs a hospital and we don't have one.” Her words are firm, as if Amami’s fate is already final. But that can’t be. . . It just can’t be!

“No! I can. . . ! I _have_ to. . .!” I choked on my words, looking back to Amami. His grip on my hand as weak as he drifted unconscious. From pain or blood loss I don’t know. I bite my lip and shake my head as I struggle to figure out what to do. I have no healing magic whatsoever due to a. . . a rather recent incident but _still_ , I have to do something. I care for Amami too! I want to know more about him. I want to understand him. I want. . . I want to protect him too! Protect him from whatever haunts him . . . “He can’t die here!”

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/QftuSg4VGEA)

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

**_ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW_ **

It’s official. Someone on The Council hates my guts. Hates my guts so much that they would _dare_ to send these goddamn bears in a grave time. It did not help that Monophanie _immediately_ threw up after taking one look at the scene.

“Y0U-R3QU1R3-4-H0SP1T4L-RUN-C0RR3CT?” I stare at Mondam, not sure if I heard correctly.

“What?”

“D0-Y0U-R3QU1R3-M3D1C4L-4SS1ST4NC3?” He points to Amami’s body. Perhaps this is a terrible idea but, I’m desperate. I don't want him to die. If the so called hospital wing is legit, this is the time to test it. I’m shouting -- Yes! Yes! Please! Please help him! -- and Monophanie and Monokid disappear and reappear in a matter of seconds with a scoop stretcher in their paws.

Together, the three of them carefully disconnect the parts of the scoop stretcher, sliding both ends under Amami’s body. Once the body was secured they proceed to fastening the two parts together and then strap him down to avoid bothering his head injury. Mondam and Monokid then lifted the two ends of the stretcher and Monophanie joined in the effort by climbing under the stretcher holding the mid portion up.

On the count of three the bears took off, Monokid making siren sound effects as they bolted through the door and down the empty halls of the academy.

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/Hs_QtQkxpFE)

I have never been relieved of the appearance of those bears -- for once -- but, it doesn't sit well with me to just let him _go_. At the very least, I had to make sure the procedure went correctly. I walked towards the doors, pausing to pick up the abandoned Yacchi. To my surprise, the orca plushie suddenly twitched in my arms, it’s tail and little flippers flapped.

_“May I propose the following research subject? The stars?”_

“What. . .?” I felt baffled by the fact this plush could talk, much less suggest research topics.

“It’s a ‘Helping Yacchi’.” Comes a familiar voice. I recognized it in an instant. It was Shuuichi. I reel around to find him and Kaito at the foot of the staircase, the two of them sporting concerned expressions. “It. . . It provides a research subject if it detects that the person carrying it is distressed.”

. . . So, he went to the store to try and win this prize. . . to help Ouma. . . but for someone to get him, they had to know what he was up to and purposely waited to--

“Why are you still standing here?” Comes Maki’s sharp voice. I flinch, not expecting her sharp tone. . .not to mention I forgot she was even here for a moment. “Take that stupid dolphin and go see Amami. I’ll explain the situation to these two. I don't exactly trust those bears with medical equipment.”

“. . .Right, thanks.” I hold the plush Orca to my chest and rush into the campus building once more, leaving the others behind.

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

“Harukawa. . . What’s going on?” Kaito demands. His expression is screwed up into something rather serious. Something that doesn't match his happy go lucky personality. She quietly scoffs.

“Kazehaya was helping me with the final touch ups on my lab and we were returning to the dorm when we found Amami laying on the stairs here.”

“Amami-kun?!” Shuuichi gasps. “What happened to him?”

“His face was sliced up pretty bad. . . but it was still precise. Precise enough to do enough damage to his eye.”

“His eye. . .?” Shuuichi uneasily repeats.

“It’s soup.” She states, giving him a sharp look. At Shuuichi’s side Kaito uneasily gulps, his face turning a green color as he registers exactly what Maki means. “He’ll never see out of it again.”

“W-Where’d the son of a bitch go?!” Kaito demands between a stutter. Maki raises a brow.

“You don't seriously intend to look for them?”

“Of course I do!” Kaito shouts, regaining his confidence and pushing his sickness aside. “Some jackass tried to kill Amamai! I can't turn a blind eye away from this!” Kaito begins to survey the area and that’s when he notices a trail of blood heading in the direction of the woods on the campus. He grins, pounding his fists together. “Alright! Shuuichi! Harumaki!

“What the hell did you call me?” Maki hisses, the sound of static filtering into her synthetic voice.

“The perp went into the woods! Let’s follow them!” However, Maki’s words were completely ignored as Kaito runs for the direction of the forest. Shuuichi looks between Kaito’s retreating backside and Maki. His expression is nothing but fear and concern. Maki sighs, feeling a twinge of pity and perhaps, a need to pay Kazehaya back for not only lying to protect her but helping her fix up her lab.

And so, she jogs after Kaito with Shuuichi following behind her. The two of them quickly catch up to him but only because he chose to stop and wait for them at the mouth of the forest. Despite how confident Kaito looked, his knees were shaking at the concept of entering a dark forest at this hour of night.

“Alright! Now that two of my three loyal sidekicks are present--!

“I’m only here for Kazehaya’s sake.” Maki grunts. Again, it is ignored.

“It’s time to enter the woods and corner that bastard!”

“How can you be sure they're still in there?”

“Amami was attacked recently, otherwise he would have already died by the time we found him.” Makit trails off for a moment, her red optics narrowing. “This just seems a little too convenient.”

“Huh? Convenient?”

“Someone attacks Amami outside the school doors at the middle of night, around the time you guys do your exercises? It makes no sense as you would all be potential witnesses.”

“She is right. . .” Shuuichi quietly agrees. Kaito crosses his arms and lets out a huff. How could his sidekicks not see that the best course of action was before their eyes? The killer simply made an incorrect calculation and fled into the woods when they realized this. Cornering them would be simple. If they did this, they could lock the bastard up and they would avoid a trial all together! This would be perfect! Besides, what if there was another victim in the forest? Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, could not leave a poor victim behind like that!

Invigorated by his own thoughts, Kaito forces his feet forward  He follows the trail of blood on the forest floor, barely visible between the moonlight that drifts in between the the trees. The sound of two sets of feet following behind him manages to give him courage, however, by this point, the moonlight was no longer helping any of them find their way.

The forest became a little too dense . . but. . . he could smell something thanks to Gonta’s enhanced senses he was bestowed with. It was definitely the smell of blood. On a nearby tree, there was a patch of something darker on the tree. It was smeared, almost like a hand ran over it. He got closer to inspect it and. . . then he heard it.

A third pair of footsteps behind him.

[ **\- EXISAL TRIBE -** ](https://youtu.be/RkwyeMxo4vA)

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the gleam of something in the moonlight, the swift slice of wire and the creek. . . of something swinging. Harumaki must have heard it too because she quietly gasps before knocking him to the ground. There’s a loud sound of something smashing against metal. To his horror, he realizes _what_ was hit -- her body -- and she groans in pain -- or maybe it was her voice box glitching -- collapsing to the ground, on top of his legs.

Kaito grinds his teeth, struggling to lift Harumaki’s body off his own. He takes a moment to glance her over. . .but it’s hard to tell the exact damage she’s suffering from with the lack of light but he _can_ tell there’s an obvious dent in her side and her arm seems to be barely hanging on due to the wires as he pulls her crumpled body into his arms.

“M-Momota-kun?! Harukawa-san?!” Shuuichi cries out at a lost with what has occurred before him. Kaito glances back to Shuuichi, who seems to be frozen in shock.

“Shuuichi! Run!” He barks the order. Shuuichi flinches, suddenly regaining control of his body. He turns to flee, an action he’s hesitant to carry out, but as far as Shuuichi gets is a few steps. A figure leaps out of the shadows -- someone with long hair -- and they strike faster than he could scream. A fist comes down, punching the poor boy in his stomach.

Shuuichi lets out a cry of pain as he doubles over to clutch the injury, but that gives the attacker enough of an opening to to slam their knee into his nose. With such a powerful attack, nose is broken and blood begins to dribble own his chin. Shuuichi begins stumbles, his eyes roll back and he stumbles forward into the arms of his attacker. And as swiftly as they appeared. . . they were gone, Shuuichi with them.

It feels. . . as if Kaito’s mind has just shattered. He was supposed to be the hero. . . He was supposed to protect his sidekicks, but he’s failed. He’s totally and utterly failed. He clutches Maki’s body a little tighter in his arms before sliding a hand under Harumaki’s legs to carry her out of the woods.

He needs to see Hekoten.

She can repair Harumaki.

 

* * *

 

Tonight could be aptly summed up as ‘great googly moogly, it’s all gone to shit.’

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

To my utter relief, Amami was going to be okay. . . but that didn't mean any concerns I had vanished.

The blood was stopped, the wound was cleaned and bandaged, but only because of my presents. There was some . . . odd dust or chemical compound around his eye. It deflected the Monokubz when they attempted to clean him up but I couldn't understand **why** this happened.

“That was fun!” Monokid grins, playing a rift on his guitar. How Amami slept through that was beyond me. “Playing doctor is nice actually!”

“Uh. Okay then.” How the _fuck_ do you logically answer that? “Uh, now that I think about it. . . Where is Monosuke?”

“H3-HAS-W0RK-T0-4TT3ND-T0.”

. . .Which means someone is getting it on at the Love Hotel. That’s so gross. I . . .I didn't need to think about who's getting banged at this very moment.

“I-I see. . .” I mumble,trying to shake images from my head before they formed. “Then, will Amami-kun be alright for the night?”

“DON'T WORRY YA PRETTY LITTLE HEAD! I’LL MAKE SURE HE’S FINE!!!!” Monokid booms, loudly chuckling.

“. . .1-SH4LL-SUP3RV1S3-H1M.” Monodam adds.

“WOAH! I’M INSULTED!”

“You should go to bed.” Monophanie pipes up to distract me from the impending chaos. I am compelled to awkwardly comply, making my way out of the school building with the Yacchi under my arm. As I let out a sigh, the Yacchi suggested another subject to me -- cat breeds this time -- and hurriedly continued my way back to the dorms where Maki, Kaito and Shuuichi would be. . .

[ **\- Re_Welcome to Despair Academy -** ](https://youtu.be/ZEMXI_9isFo)

Only to find Kaito sitting on the stairs looking dreadfully exhausted, his coat draped over his shoulders and Shuuichi’s gakuran was draped over Ouma’s shoulders as he sat in Kaito’s lap with a rather devoid expression. My heart uncomfortably clenched at their unfortunate expressions.

“What happened. . .?” I find myself asking. Kaito clenches his fists, slamming it against the stairs. The reverberating sound caused Ouma to flinch.

“Sorry.” Kaito mumbles, his voice soft and listless. Gently he rests a the hand he slammed against the stairs on Ouma’s head and pulled the boy closer to him. Ouma was hesitant but he complied with Kaito’s quiet demand and rest his head on the taller male’s chest. “I. . .I fucked up Kiriri. . .” Kaito’s expression was troubled. He couldn’t look me in the eye and anytime our eyes happened to meet he would immediately look away.

“Hey, talk to me Kaichii. . .” I urge in a soft voice. I take his bruised hand from Ouma’s head and cradled it in my own. . . but he only looked _worse_. “Kaichii?”

“I was so fucking stupid.” He whispers. “Harumaki said it was dangerous to go but I didn’t listen. Even Shuuichi said so. But I didn’t _listen_ and now, Harumaki got hurt real bad and Shuuichi was kidnapped.” A sharp gasp escaped me. How? How could this happen? I was gone for thirty minutes a at best. How did things fall apart like this?!

“W-What?! How did that happen?!”

“There was a small trail of blood leading to the woods on campus. I . . . I followed it like an idiot. There was some trap waiting in the woods, it completely smashed in Harumaki’s left side and her arm was barely hanging on. Then someone jumped out, knocked Shuuichi out and ran off with him. . .” Kaito takes his hand back, running it over his face in exasperation.

“You’re right,” I find myself deadpanning. “That was stupid.” He looks offended that I would even say that. “I’ll admit the delivery was harsh but, honestly? It _was_ a stupid move. **A stupid move the attacker relied on to make their plan work**.”

“W-What. . . ?”

“That’s what I've been saying.” Ouma huffs. “Momota-chan is too kind and heroic, like onee-chan, and once he sees a chance to be a hero, he’ll do it.”

“Ouma-kun please,” I quietly beg. “Now think about it, why bother attacking Amami-kun if there was a trap already in the woods? I’m certain their intention was to send either you or myself away in order to isolate Shuuichi and take care of the other person with the trap. I hate to admit this, but if Harukawa-chan was not there, you may have ended up in the hospital wing with Amami-kun. Or worse, dead.”

“There’s no way that would happen! Besides, what was I supposed to do?! Let that bastard that hurt Amami do as they pleased?!” Kaito demands, his voice loud and serious but one of his arms wrap around Ouma’s body to shelter him. I squint my eyes for a moment before I let out yet another sigh, this time placing my hands on my hips.

“Kaito, I love you and that’s exactly why I’m criticizing you. Please understand this. My words are not to destroy your idea to a hero but to help it _evolve_.” For a moment Kaito falters, utterly baffled by my choice of words.

“E. . . Evolve? What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”

“Being a hero means more than a flashy title or having people look up to you. It means the lives of others are in your hands and they are depending on you to assure their safety.”

“I know that! What if that trail of blood was another victim too? Was I supposed to ignore that?!” I pause, folding my hands together and take a deep breath.

“You’re right, that’s a fair assumption to make and a very valid possibility.” Kaito grins as if he’s won the battle but I’m nowhere near done. “However,” I continue in a pointed tone. “if that _was_ the case you were still ill equipped. You had no way to protect yourself nor did you have _anything_ to light the way. If you did you would have more than likely saw the trap before it was sprung.” Kaito begins to sweat as if he realized these very obvious facts himself.

“That’s not. . . I just . . .! I just didn’t think--!!” I let out another sigh. God, I love him but he’s still flawed. He’s still human. And of course I understand what Kaito wanted to do. Someone was hurt, badly, and logically anyone would want to try and do something to prevent that from happening again. I sigh once more, this time softer and sadder.

“I know. . .You didn’t think it would end this badly, but you said it yourself. You didn't listen to either Shuuichi or Maki. . . Don't you think there’s a problem there?” I question in a soft voice. “A hero isnt someone that works alone, a hero works for the sake of others so shouldn't their opinions be as valid as your own thoughts? You can’t only apply your thoughts and opinions when facing a problem, things could have easily gone worse and _all three of you_ could have gotten hurt instead.”

Kaito clenches his fist, unconsciously clutching Ouma tighter to his chest but the slamming of a door reminded us of where we were shouting at each other. In the middle of the dorms lobby. God. We’re really lucky the rooms are soundproof. . . but, Tenko probably made a face at us for this shit. Sighing, I rub my face with exhaustion as Kaito’s expression slowly fell once more.

“. . . I just want to do _more_ for you.” He quietly admits. I peek between my fingers to give him a baffled look. “I don’t like sitting around and feeling useless while you have so much to deal with.” I grimace. Silent for a moment, I push my bangs back as I try to string my thoughts together to make something coherent and helpful, because, honestly, he _isn't_ useless or anything.

“Do you really think your efforts are useless?” I question, placing my hands on my hips. He looks to me with confusion. Like I asked him if two plus two is four or something as simple as that with the most obvious answer.

“What?"

“You’re helping Shuuichi find courage to push forward. You’re always looking for ways to keep us all happy and cheerful. I already told you there's a lot to being a hero, like being a symbol of hope people can look up to. And you're way more natural at that aspect than I could be with my depressed ass! Do you have any idea how many depression jokes I make with Ryouma on the side?”

Okay so, I never intended to let it slip by that I make depression jokes with Ryouma. But, that is a truth. We joke about how awful our depression is and its great. Ryouma isn’t that bad of a dude despite how tiny and sketchy he seems at first. Also he loves cats. It’s a plus in my books.

“Why are you making depression jokes. . .?” Kaito on the other hand, is horrified.

“To cope obviously.” I snort. “We depressed people do it all the time. Just like how gays and queers make queers jokes all the time. But that’s besides the point. Your efforts aren’t useless, just because you don't go running out into battle screaming and waving a sword or whatever, doesn't mean you aren't a hero because you’re my hero Kaito. Your support at a time like this is the most valuable thing I can have and it keeps me going!” His cheeks flush red and he looks a bit sheepish. That expression is beyond adorable. I giggle lightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I think you’re both missing the most important thing.” Ouma suddenly says. We both look to him with confusion when he points out what’s probably the biggest mystery. “ **Why didn't they kill Shuuichi when they had the chance?** ”

“Why didn’t they. . .?” Kaito mumbles. “You’re right. . .That is weird. . .”

“With you and Maki incapacitated at the moment, it would have been easy to kill him right then and there.” I quietly muse.

“Yeah and the forest was dark as hell. I couldn't figure out who it was. . . just that they had long hair. . .” There were too many questions and not enough answers. I didn't like this, but at the very least this implied one thing, Shuuichi was still alive.

[ **\- Beautiful Dead -** ](https://youtu.be/3WZb20NinCs)

“Why is Ouma-kun in your lap anyway. . .?” I ask in order to distract myself for the time being. Kaito blinks before glancing down at the boy and then back to me. He awkwardly rubs the back of his head with a chuckle.

“I found him looking all weepy in the lobby.”

“I was not weepy!” Ouma rebuffs with a huff. I laugh a little before recalling what was tucked under my arms. I look to the Yacchi and back to Ouma before offering the little mascot to him. He blinks in confusion.

“It’s from Amami. The reason why he was out was to get this for you. . . It’s apparently a comfort object.” Tears suddenly bubble up in Ouma’s eyes. He whispers and mutters how ‘his beloved Amami-chan’ is an idiot and there was no need to do this. Nevertheless, he clutches the plushie to his chest and tears being to roll down his red cheeks as he begins to wail. Kaito awkwardly pats the smaller male on his back in an attempt to calm him but all that does it encourage Ouma to hide his face in Kaito’s chest as his shoulders tremble with his sobs.

“I doubt he’ll want to be left alone tonight,” I whisper as I help Kaito back to his feet. “Take him to your room, I’ll be there after I take care of some arrangements.” Kaito looks rather baffled but I smile, assuring him things would be fine. I offered no explanation and made my way to Miu’s room.

She greeted me with a huff, complaining how I abandoned her and I should grovel on my knees to beg for her forgiveness in order to sleep beside her. . . however, the moment I said I had no intentions staying she immediately deflated. I simply took her by the wrist and lead her to Kiibo’s door.

Kiibo greeted me in a matter of seconds, bags clearly under his eyes and he looked almost ready to drop dead. . . but right now, he was the only one I could trust to deal with Miu and her sleep paralysis. Other than Gonta but like HELL if I’m leaving her with him.

With that taken care of, I made my way up the stairs to reach Kaito’s room. He immediately greeted me, his hair slightly damp and without his dress shirt on. .  . just there in a wifebeater and his boxers. I awkwardly mumbled something before stepping into his room and he closed the door behind him.

Fully entering the room, I spot Ouma laying on his side on Kaito’s bed, his expression is rather upsetting as he strokes the material of the plush like it’s the most precious thing in the world. . . Doing a double take I realized he was wearing on of Kaito’s spare clean white button ups for the evening. The shirt reached his lower thighs and because he recently took a shower his wet hair stick to his pale skin. It. . . It was kinda cute?

Shaking my head, I take a seat at the edge of the bed and motion for Kaito to join me. He gives me a rather confused expression but joins me at the edge and I get to work carefully cleaning the scraps on his knuckle before bandaging them up.

“Be careful, okay?” I sigh. Holding his hand in my own, I pause before bringing his hand to my lips for a kiss. “You shouldn't hurt yourself, even when frustrated.” His cheeks glow red and he rubs the back of his head with his other hand with an awkward look on his face.

“O-Okay. . . why don't you take a bath or something. . .?” He vaguely motions to the state my clothes are in. Which is dirty and a bit bloody. Nodding my head I agree with his request and head to the bathroom.

[ **\- Kaine / Salvation -** ](https://youtu.be/viDKam_hmGM)

I let out a sigh as I enter the room and lean against the closed door. The bathroom looked just like my own -- the same as last time I borrowed it -- and the room was warm and surfaces damp, proving that Kaito took a quick shower before I arrived.

Plugging the sink, I turned on the water and let it fill up as I did the same for the tub. Returning to the sink, I turned off the water once it was full enough, removed my stockings from my legs and placed them in the water of the sink. As I let them soak I removed my skirt and top, tossing them both into the laundry bin sitting on the bathroom along with the boy’s dirty clothes and Shuuichi’s gakuran.

Using the bottle of hand soap from the sink counter, I furiously scrubbed at the bloodstains. It’s insane after how much time I’ve spent working I’ve never gotten good at this and had to use magic to finish the job off. It was one of the advantages I had I supposed. I do my best to wring the water from the stockings before setting them down to dry on the counter and my underwear joined them shortly after.

I proceeded to wash my body down under the warm water of the shower, cleaning dirt and dry blood from my body and moved to the waiting tub. I submerge myself into the tub filled with warm water and it’s not long until I’m hounded by a thousand thoughts concerning Shuuichi’s wearabouts. I want to find him right now and the only saving grace was that we were confined in a small area but where would I even begin?

I don’t know. But I want to save him. I care for Shuuichi so much. I want to see him grow and become the detective he truly can be. I want him to realize and understand how wonderful he is. I just . . . I just want so much for such a kind person!

I brought my folded hands to my forehead in a prayer.

 

**_Aphrodite_ ** _,_

_Please, please, please hear my plea._

_I know returning to this world was forbidden unless I had completed my preparations to save my classmates. . ._

_But in order to do so, I had to come back to locate an important component._

_In doing so, I met people I love with my heart. . ._

_I beg of you_ **_Guardian_ ** _. . ._

_At the very least, please,_

_Protect Shuuichi Saihara in my place until I can safely bring him back._

 

I hope this somehow reaches  **Aphrodite** and she provides some form of divine intervention to prevent the **Sisters of Fate** from cutting Shuuichi’s strings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.bevfitchett.us/improvised-weaponry/images/3272_351_205-booby-traps-triggers.jpg
> 
>  
> 
> Also a rough translation of Kaine / Salvation; ive been waiting for a scene to use this song
> 
>  
> 
> To walk with someone beloved
> 
> is our fanciful design.
> 
> To burn with desire and fury
> 
> a curse long after tears; these feelings of loss.


	23. {02} Unordinary Days {01}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i mean kidnapping sure counts as unordinary

He woke up. . . .but something wasn't right. He was laying on something incredibly soft and comfortable but he couldn’t see, much less move. His arms were tightly bound behind his back with such strength that the rope was digging into his skin.

It took a moment but it all came back. Amami-kun was attacked. He, Momota-kun and Harukawa-san went to the woods on the campus to confront the attacker . . . but there was a trap. Momota-kun told him to run and he. . . He was attacked. Oh god he was kidnapped. Fear seized him all at once and panic suffocated him to his very core. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t fight. His breathing became erratic as it sunk in how helpless he was in this situation. He was at the mercy of whoever kidnapped him.

A whisper passes the poor boy’s quivering lips as he tries to curl in on himself, bringing his bound legs up and he presses his forehead to his legs in a vain attempt to hide even if he knew it was useless. His face feels hot and tears begin to crawl down his face, dampening the blindfold.

He knew detective work would be dangerous -- he was no fool -- and he would expose himself to dangers like this but that didn’t mean he was any less terrified to actually be in this scenario. It was horrible. Petrifying even.

He didn’t want to die.

And then nails suddenly dig into his scalp, grabbing a fist full of hair and yanking his head back. A pained yelp escapes him and his captor chuckles, tightening their grip on his hair to make sure he didn’t escape. _If_ he bothered to try.

“How unfortunate,” His captor whispers into his ear. A choked sob escapes his trembling body as something cold touches his neck and the coppery scent of blood fills his nose. His breath hitches. Was it his blood? He didn’t know and that made it all the more terrifying. Was he bleeding out? Delusional and unaware? “It seems an. . . uninvited guest followed us. You’ll have to excuse me so I can take care of them.”

The hand released his hair, allowing Shuuichi’s head to fall forward and he curls in on himself once more, shaking and trembling with sobs. He’s so terrified. He doesn't want to die. And he certainly doesn't want anyone to die for him.

He hopes someone will come and save him.

 

* * *

 

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**ALMOST** **HELL** **HEAVEN**

**Un** **ordinary Days**

 

* * *

  **June 30th; Day 11**

* * *

 

“Kiriri. . . You’re already awake?” Kaito asks with a yawn. I merely shrug.

“I never went to sleep.” I admit with a sigh as I stroke Ouma’s hair. He looked rather cute as he peacefully slept his little life away. It was a nice distraction as Kaito didn't take my answer too well although.

“You didn't sleep?!” He demands in a hushed tone, jerking upright.

“Sleep or eating isn’t really a necessity when you're an immortal god.” I deadpan. His face falters for a moment.

“I . . . I guess that’s true. . .” Kaito quietly admits. He glances back to Ouma and a smile pulls at his lips. He gently brushes the smaller male’s bangs back but they quickly fall back in place. “Ya’know, he’s kinda. . . cute when he’s sleeping.”

“You guys are gross.” Ouma mumbles, opening one eye to give us a pouty look. Kaito jumped right out of the bed and I pull my hands away from Ouma, raising them up in the air to show I had no intention of doing anything weird to him. He stared at me with those big purple eyes and the Yacchi tucked in his arms before jumping right into my lap and snuggling up to my chest. “But, I guess it’s okay if onee-chan wants to pet my hair!” I let out an awkward laugh before giving a calm smile.

I gently wrapped my arms around him and returned to threading my hand through his hair. Ouma lets out a pleasant hum, cuddling a little closer to my body. He’s. . . really adorable when he’s calm like this.

“Not to. . . interrupt . . .” Kaito trials off as he motions to the scene before him on his bed. “. . . this but, what are we going to do now?” I let out a sigh, resting my head on top of Ouma’s while I shuffled through my thoughts. I can only hope that my prayer to **Aphrodite** reached her. . . If it did, it’s very likely she did _something_ as she has a rather insane fondness for me, which became even more obvious after **The Lady** was erased.

Shaking my head, I looked back to Ouma to find he was giving me a rather serious look and glancing to the side, I noticed Kaito was as well. Were they both. . . depending on me for guidance? If that’s the case. . . I have no choice but to go forward and lead this investigation.

[ **\- Hope Searching -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxH3z9cozVg)

“Alright, Ouma-kun, I want you to go check on Amami in the hospital wing.” I begin, looking right into the eyes of the smaller male. “Make sure nothing bad happened over night and ask him if he remembers anything about his attacker.” Ouma leaps out of my lap, Yacchi tucked under his arm, and his eyes sparkle as he salutes to me. I turn to Kaito, pointing a finger at him.

“Kaichii, go check up on Harukawa-chan and go back to the woods. Maybe looking at the trap or scene of the kidnapping will give us some clues to who was behind it.” Grinning, he gives me a thumbs up but it fades shortly after as a question comes to mind.

“Alright, but what about yourself?”

“I’ll start investigating the school building itself once I change.” I explain. With a sigh, I add; “For once, we’re lucky we’re trapped here in his dome.”

“Lucky!?” Kaito incredulously demands. Sighing like his usual self, Ouma rolls his eyes.

“Because there’s so few places open to us in this dome, it significantly narrows down any possible hiding spots.” Kaito’s eyes widen in realization and a huge grin stretches across his face. “Geez Momota-chan, for an astronaut you're not really smart, are you?”

“Excuse me?!”

“Please don't. . .” I sigh. “If we wanna find Shuuichi-kun there’s no time to fuck around with each other.” Kaito and Ouma exchanges glances before decidedly agreeing with my words. Thank god. Ouma bolts out the room, the Yacchi over his head and his scarf in hand. Kaito muttered something under his breath but quickly changed into a clean set of clothes in order to escort me to my room.

Arriving at my door I found that nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Nothing other than a sheet of paper slipped under the door in a way that you had to open the door to retrieve it.

“What does it say?” I questioned as Kaito picked up the paper. He kicks the door close behind him and makes his way over to the edge of the bed while I pull a clean pair of clothes from my closet. Kaito doesn't deliver an immediate answer. Just sits there with this dumb confused look and he moves the paper closer and farther from his face.

“You might wanna read it to figure out who left it?” Now dressed in a fresh set of clothes I took the paper from my boyfriend.

 

* * *

 

_hey_

_meet me in your lab_

**_\-- 83c_ **

 

* * *

 

. . . If this was not the most obvious letter I’ve ever seen.

“It’s from Ryouma.” I simply state, shoving the paper into my shirt without much of a thought. It doesn't really occurred to me this is odd until I notice out of the corner of my eye Kaito’s mouth is slightly ajar and he’s raising a finger to question this but decides to back off.

“Alright, let's go see him!” I raise a brow.

“But I asked you to go see Harukawa-chan.”

“Well we have to pass your lab anyway to reach Iruma’s. Hakento and Harumaki still should be there. She. . .” Scratching his head, Kaito mumbles how the calligrapher-turn-inventor claimed it would take her all night to make sure Maki was properly repaired and all necessary tests to make sure she was functioning were completed.

That’s fair enough. . .

I slip on my mary janes and we made haste out of the dorm and to my lab. . . but to our surprise a few of the others were roaming around the grassy courtyard. I noticed Miu not far off with Gonta . . . who had Kiibo on his shoulders.

“What are they doing?” Kaito whispers.

“I don't know. . .” I mumble back. “Let’s just get moving.”

. . .

Entering my lab we removed our shoes at the front as usual and I found Ryouma in the main room, staring at the folding screen dividers that depicted the **The Birth of the Multiverse** and **The First Valkyries of Hope and Despair**. Realizing he was not alone, Ryouma pulled the candy cigarette from his mouth and sent a half hearted wave our way.

“Hey,” He raises a brow at Kaito. “Brought your boyfriend along?”

“He more and less insisted.” I sigh, crossing my arms.

“I donno much about him,” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, he was a pretty famous tennis player back in the day, I looked up to him and all but, uh, things changed when he . . .” Kaito trails off, glancing between myself and Ryouma, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Go ahead, finish that.” Ryouma snorts. “Maybe she’ll stop being so friendly with me.” I raise a brow.

“What?”

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“So you really haven't heard about. . . **Killer Tennis** , huh?”

“Nope. Not at all.” I answer without skipping a beat.

“Huh, well, a couple years back. . . I killed an entire yakuza clan with a steel tennis ball.” My brain immediately jumped to a familiar baby faced friend I made back in Hope’s Peak Academy. But . . . no, that doesn't seem likely, much less possible, to occur over the last six years.

“Well, that’s. . . uh, pretty hardcore. . . but _why_?” Ryouma looks to the screen of the two Valkyries with a rather hollow look on his face.

“I was pretty cocky when I was younger. I was invited to this underground gambling tournament on a yakuza-owned luxury liner. . . I was supposed to take a dive during the final match, but, being the little shit I was, I decided I wouldn't play by their rules for some shitty matches. I won. Completely squashing them. It pissed them off. I pissed them off _real bad_.

“In retaliation, they massacred my family. . . I told the woman I loved to escape, to run away. . . Scum like me barely escaped with their life, but, the woman I loved -- the one I should have protected -- I wasn't by her side when she needed me the most. . . I ended up finding her remains in a shitty trash bag at some cheap motel.”

“So you decided to kill them. . .” I finish. Ryouma is silent for several long moments before nodding his head.

[ **\- Hope Searching -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxH3z9cozVg)

“Yeah. So, you sure you wanna work with a guy like me?”

“Work?” I repeat utterly baffled.

“Yeah, I got a pretty good idea where Saihara is.”  He states that so easily that I can't help but give him an incredulous look.

“You what.”

“Wait, how the hell did you know Shuuichi is missing?!” Kaito demands. Ryouma rolls his eyes.  

“Everyone knows.” He sighs. He takes a moment to adjust his hat, quietly muttering under his breath. “Monokuma came to the dining hall this morning and blabbed about ‘someone did a really shitty job at killing Amami’ and then Monodam came in to inform us that Saihara was kidnapped.”

Oh.

So Miu, Kiibo and Gonta were doing what they could to looking for him too. . . If that's the case, then everyone is doing something to help. That means more ground could be covered but also the kidnapper would probably be racing against the clock to either cover up their actions or eliminate Shuuichi.

“You’ve probably figured it out Kazehaya, but we have a small window of time to act now that everyone, kidnapper included, knows about the situation. I would have gone ahead but I required some. . . muscle. . .  to do the job.”

“Why not Gonta?” Kaito ponders out loud. Ryouma takes a moment to roll the candy cigarette between his fingers before jamming it into his mouth once more.

“First off, your girlfriend has experience. So if the kidnapper _was_ present when we went to retrieve Saihara, she could easily disable them without killing. Maybe giving them some broken bones at worse.”

“I can do that.” I numbly add. I really don't mind breaking bones of the asshole that kidnapped Shuuichi.

“Secondly, there’s no way in _hell_ would I take Gokuhara to that fucking Love Hotel.” To emphasize his point, he yanks the candy cigarette out of his mouth and points it at Kaito’s baffled face.

That is. . . a fair point. It’s just. . . wrong to think of. Incredibly Illegal. On the other hand, Kaito was stuck in an expression of perpetual horror. He raises his hands to the sides of his face and then motions to Ryouma, while shouting: _“WHY ARE YOU TAKING MY GIRLFRIEND TO A LOVE HOTEL?!”_ with utmost horror.

“Get your head out of the fucking gutter Momota.” Ryouma sighs, putting the candy back into his mouth yet again. “First of all, I’m not interested in her. Second, it’s the perfect location. It’s expensive and skeevy as hell, those two things deter people from it making it prime location for privacy.”

“Right,” I mumble, bringing a hand to my chin thoughtfully. “The prices on the sign outside are pretty high. I don't think most high schoolers would have money like that laying around, especially in this situation. . . and the key for the suite is 10K coins.”

“How do you know that?!” Kaito gasps.

“It’s one of the casino prizes.”

“Why the hell is a key to a love hotel a prize?”

“Monosuke said it's for a ‘special intimate experience’ or something.”

“What the fuck that sounds disgusting.”

“And third,” Ryouma harshly continues. “our highest priority is Saihara’s safety. There’s no time to fuck around. If he dies, **it’s a win-win for Monokuma**.”

As grim as that sounds, it’s unfortunately correct. . . in that scenario, we lose our legitimate detective, and following both investigation and trial, we would be without any sort of professional which would add a web of complexity to all future cases. . .

“Alright, let’s get moving. We’ll have to hit up the Casino first since Monosuke is in charge of . . .” I trail off, suddenly struck with a memory.

 

* * *

 

_“Uh, now that I think about it. . . Where is Monosuke?”_

_“H3-HAS-W0RK-T0-4TT3ND-T0.”_

 

* * *

 

“Ah! Monosuke was running the love hotel last night!” I suddenly exclaim.

“What? How do you know that?” Kaito questions.

“Because he wasn’t around when the others came to cart Amami-kun to the hospital wing. When I asked where he was, Monodam told me he had work to attend to.”

“So we definitely have a hit on the hotel then.” Ryouma chuckles. “Alright, you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let's get moving.” We pull on our shoes, taking our leave from the lab. We quickly  make our way across campus, vaguely waving and nodding to those who greeted us as we passed by them, when Kaito brings up something.

“Why did you sign the letter with ‘eight-three-c’?” We all stop in our tracks and Ryouma and myself look at Kaito in disbelief.

“Kaichii. . .” I began, my tone slowly becoming deadpan as it honestly sinks in what Kaito asked. “That’s a cat face.” Kaito looks back at the two of us as if we’re both insane or something.

“Why the _hell_ did he sign it with a cat?”

“Because I fucking like cats. Was that not obvious enough?” Ryouma grunts. Kaito’s face was blank but it was clear as day that he was judging Ryouma. Sensing this, Ryouma pointed his candy cigarette at Kaito and furrowed his brows. “Don’t look at me in that kind of tone.” Off to the side, I wheeze like a fucking idiot.

. . .

[ **\- DANVEGAS -** ](https://youtu.be/4XLB2GAPfxw)

Entering the Casino I quickly made my way over to the exchange counter where Monosuke sat. He pushes his glasses up a bit, making the glass glint in the light, and a grin splits across his face.

“Couldn’t avoid the allure, huh?”

“Besides the point,” I begin. . . which is incredibly stupid because _no_ _point_ was previously made. He gives me a look that's clearly questioning my intelligence. “Look, just scratch the bullshit I just said. _My point_ is, I was told you were busy with work in the Love Hotel last night. You gonna tell me who was in or not?”

“We have a strict rule on visitor confidentiality.” He answers without hesitation, almost grinning at the fact he’s impeding our investigation.

“Of course you do.” Ryouma sighs. “So, you’ll most likely not cooperate with us if we ask for access to the hotel right now?”

“Nope.” Kaito grits his teeth and slams his fist on the counter. The bear is hardly threatened by the action.

“C’mon! You're impeding the investigation! We have to find Shuuichi! We don't have time for your shit!”

“Y’all finding him isnt any of my concern! He could fuckin’ die for all I care! Just another one of ya bastards to the slaughter!” Monosuke cackles, clutching his stomach and sending spit flying with his loud obnoxious laughter.

“Y’all?” The three of us repeat with varying tones of annoyance and confusion. His laughter immediately stops and he glares at us all in disgust and contempt.

“I’m from Osaka you fuckin’ dumbasses!”

“Unimportant.” I cut in. “We need a key to get into a room, right?”

“No. Basic rooms cost 4500 yen while a deluxe is 6500 yen. Those are both per night fees.” He then proceeds to waddle over to the prize counter and points out the **Key of Love** once more. Huh. There were five total this time. But isn’t that odd. . .? “As we discussed in the past, these keys are the only way to get into the suites and they cost 10k coins. The can be used to enter the suite in person or the person that purchased it can hold onto it for the ‘special experience’.”

_What the ffUCK does this shit mean?!_

_What the hell is this ‘special experience’?!_

“. . . I have many concerns about this.” Ryouma mutters. He takes a moment to compose himself before standing tall once more. “Alright, so we get a key and we can enter the damn building, right?”

“Nooope!” Monosuke cackles. A dark shadow befalls Ryouma’s face and Kaito slams his fists on the counter once more.

“Why the hell not?!”

“The hotel . . . only opens an hour after the nighttime announcement.” I begrudgingly inform the two.

“That’s right!” Monosuke cackles.

“So, where’s the key?” I question. Monosuke ceases his laughter to look at me with confusion. I point to the shelf  where the five keys rested. “The key _was_ used last night, meaning it should have been returned. Unless the person exchanged another 10k coins to keep it again, right?”

“W-Well, how would you know that?!”

“Monodam.”

“Ugh, that bastard. . .” Monosuke mutters with disappointment. Huffing, he pushes his glasses into place once more. “Okay, y’all got me on that. The owner of the key to Room Two refunded the key this morning. Now is this interrogation over? I have work to do.”

_Bullshit._

_The casino was empty._

_What_ **_possible_ ** _work could he have?_

That aside, that meant one or two things if the room was paid for yet again. Shuuichi was still alive, held captive in room two or. . . or the kidnapper already took care of him and they were reserving the room for yet another scheme. . . I . . .I really hope it’s the former. . .

“No, cause you’re gonna take our coins,” I begin with a sigh, planting my hands on my hips. “exchange them for a Key of Love and let us into that Love Hotel before hours.” He furrows his brows, almost like he was offended by my words.

“The hell I’d do that for?”

“Cause,” Leaning over the counter, a shit eating grin stretched across my face. “I’m asking for a **favor**.”

“. . . _God fucking_ **_dammit_ **.” He’s grumbling and cursing under his breath, stomping in the circle behind the counter for a while before he steps up to the counter and bangs his paws on it, demanding we hand over the coins. I look to Ryouma as I pull my wallet out my purse.

“You have your Casino Card, right?” He easily pulls it out of the breast pocket of his coat and flicks it into the surface of the counter where it’s joined with my own card. Monosuke continues to throw a fit as he takes 5k coins from each card and proceeds to slam a Key of Love on the counter.

Monodam soon arrives in order to supervise the Casino while Monosuke ‘assisted’ us. For the entire walk to the Love Hotel, he’s angrily stomping and ranting in some accent, Osakan I guess, about how he can't believe he has to deal with ‘this shit’ and ‘goddamn motherfucking cow’.

I’m assuming I’m the cow.

He fumbles with a ring of keys for the hotel’s entrance. He’s so pissed off he can’t even unlock the door properly. Jesus Christ. Kaito gets so fed up with him that he yanks the keyring out of his paws and unlocks the door himself. Monosuke doesnt even bother to thank him, just shouts a ‘fuck you’ and storms into the building.

“You're welcome!” Kaito sarcastically shouts back. The building was now unlocked . . .but we couldn't help but be concerned and feel a bit awkward about what possibly awaited us. . . but, I would have to face that at another time. Shuuichi needed help now.

[ **\- Fallin’ Love -** ](https://youtu.be/Ga_RF_mRZKw)

. . .The lobby was much tamer than I would have expected. The floor were a shiny white tile while the walls were painted a nice coral pink, trimmed with a white heart pattern inches below the ceiling and the lower half of the wall was covered with a white wood boarding.

On the right hand side of the entrance, was a small lounge area. Long white wood shelves surrounded the area, creating a small private area, the shelves were stocked with photos of what the various rooms of the hotel looked like, most likely to help customers choose the proper room they wanted?

A square coral colored carpet covered the floor under two white leather couches and the glass table covered in magazines between them. Surprisingly, the magazines were pretty tame looking as well. Nothing sexual about them at all. But. . . they were baby animal magazines . . . making them horribly and sorely out of place.

Meanwhile, to the left was a box office built into the wall where Monosuke sat, a sleek white desk serving as the countertop and a hole in the glass so he could talk to us. . . If he was willing to do so. Hanging on the wall beside his box office was a framed poster of prices for the rooms.

On the wall above the box office were three large flat screens -- each with a label either saying basis, deluxe or suite -- displaying the floor plans of the building. There were ten rooms on basic, eight on deluxe, all of these rooms were colored green, but on the suite floor there were six rooms and one of them was red. If the order was anything to go by, it was room number two.

Attached to the boxoffice was a touchpad like object, which -- by the looks of it -- functioned as a signing digital sign in sheet. At the moment, two names were written down in kanji -- 以紗 and 追泉 -- which spelled out the names Isa and Tsuizumi respectively.

“‘Tsui’. . .” Kaito repeats softly, stroking his chin. “That’s another way to spell the kanji ‘Shuu’, right?”

“In theory.” Ryouma hums. “It’s definitely not written like that although.”

“Who the hell could ‘Isa’ be?” I question. Both of them seem to be at a loss. I know ‘紗’ can be read as ‘sa’ or ‘sha’ and Isa is a female given name. . . but I couldn't connect that to any people. Even the false name that was most likely chosen for Shuuichi didn't give much of a hint either.

  * “ **Touchpad Sign-In** ”; At the front desk is a computerized touch screen for guests to sign in. False names Isa -- 以紗 -- and Tsui -- 追泉 -- are the only names currently logged into the touchpad. It can be inferred these names belong to Shuuichi and his kidnapper.



[ **\- Hope Searching -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxH3z9cozVg)

We decided it could be debated at another time and we make our way over to the elevator. . . and my nose is immediately assaulted with the heavy smell of bleach. I cover my nose and nearly kneel over. I knew I smelt some when I entered the building but I never imagined it would smell _this_ heavy.

  * “ **Bleached Elevator** ”; The Elevator in Hotel Kamasutra smells heavily of bleach as if it was recently cleaned but nowhere else in the lobby of hotel has this heavy smell.



“Christ! Did you drop an entire fucking bottle of bleach?!” I demand of Monosuke. He furrows his brows and pushes his glasses into place.

“What the hell are you talking about? It’s not bleaching day.”

“Well, it reeks.” Kaito adds, covering his nose. Oh. With the enhanced senses he got from Gonta it was probably pretty strong to him as well.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Monosuke snarls, he kicks open the the wicket gate built into the office box and stomps over to us. He sniffs the air and makes a disgusted sound. “Who the fuck would use _this much_ bleach?! I can't believe this shit.” He notices his ring of keys on Kaito’s other hand and yanks them back to use them on a nearby door. Said door contained nothing but cleaning supplies -- bleach, pine-sol, brooms, buckets and mops -- and stacks of clean linen and pillow covers. Monosuke glances over everything in the closet before he lets out a confused sound.

“Huh? Nothing is missing. . .?” An elevator that reeks of bleach and Monosuke didn’t do it but nothing is missing from the cleaning supplies. That’s pretty weird and it doesn't have any sort of good connotation here. . . The elevator dings, informing us that it had arrived. Monosuke suddenly looked back at us.

“What the hell are you guys doing?”  
  
“Riding the elevator? What else?” Kaito sarcastically responds.

“Are y’all fuckin’ stupid?! The elevator only functions if there’s two people in it! No more, no less!”

“I am offended.” I quip.

“Who cares.” He snorts. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Kaito and pat his forearm as comfortingly as possible.

“Hoshi-kun and I are going to go on ahead by ourselves you go meet up with Harukawa-chan and Hekoten-chan, okay?”  Kaito uneasily swallowed a wad of spit but agreed with a nod of his head. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head and made his way to the door. I looked back to Monosuke. “Would that two people rule be a problem if we took Shuuichi with us?”

“Nah,” Monosuke sighs, looking pretty exhausted at this point. “It only needs two people to leave the lobby and visit another floor.”

**EVIDENCE UPDATED!**

  * " **Bleached Elevator** ”;The Elevator in Hotel Kamasutra smells heavily of bleach as if it was recently cleaned but nowhere else in the lobby of hotel has this heavy smell. The elevator can only leave the lobby if there are only two people are in it.



“Lucky. It seems unless our kidnapper has an accomplice, they have no way to get back to Saihara.” Ryouma chuckles. A breath I didn't even realize I’ve been holding back escapes me all at once. That is true. With this important fact, it meant Shuuichi was most certainly safe. He _had_ to be.

And now, renewed and energized, the two of us enter the waiting elevator. A green light briefly flashes from the elevator panel -- most likely a scanner to check if two people were in or not -- and with a beep, the door slid close.

Now boxed in, the smell of bleach was stronger than ever. Then. . . It wasn’t the area around the elevator that was cleaned, but specifically the elevator itself.

No.

I’m not going to think about that. Shuuichi is fine. We’ll find him.

My anxiety and fears begin to rear its ugly head again but I refuse to listen to them. They could _fuck off_ for all I care because Aphrodite didn’t fail me. She never would. She most certainly intervened and provided me with some form of divine intervention.

So. . . We’ll most definitely find him.

 _Definitely_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lobby was modeled after this  
> http://apieceoftoastblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/joule-hotel-5-thumb-620x413-63285.jpg
> 
> Basic rooms look like a classic hotel room, while the Deluxe ones would look like this  
> https://kotaku.com/inside-japans-pleasure-hotels-892099090


	24. {02} Unordinary Days {02}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> various investigations continue

[ **\- Hope Searching -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxH3z9cozVg)

“My beloved Amami-chaaaaan~!” Kokichi sings as he enters the hospital wing. The tone was a bit forced and his voice cracked a bit. He despised how vulnerable he sounded or how he accepted affection so easily now that he’s lost his ability to lie. He’s strong. He’s endured Tamekichi’s torture for years. He’s survived on his own on the streets once that shitty orphanage tossed him aside. He was better than this.

But Amami-chan’s charming smile melts his heart. It’s as bad as Saihara-chan’s beautiful smile. As Kazehaya-chan’s gentle hugs. As Momota-chan’s boisterous laughter. The way Kiibo’s eyes sparkled when he found something new. It was terrible! Disgusting! The way all five of them were ruining him. . . it was too much for him. . .

“Oh, Ouma-kun?” Amami-chan blinks. He was currently sitting on the edge of one of the hospital beds with bandages wrapped around the right side of his head to cover the wound and Kokichi could see the hint of scars peeking out from under the bandages.

“Oh, your face. . .” Oh goddamnit. Why did he say that? Why the hell would he point out how bad Amami looked right now? But, instead of being offended, Amami-chan laughs.

“Yeah, Monokid said I looked like shit.”

“It’s not _that_ bad.” Kokichi argues. “It makes you look, like. . . someone cool and mysterious.” Holy _SHIT._ He sounds like an idiot. And yet, Amami-chan still smiles. He thoughtfully cups his chin and hums.

“Oh, so you're saying I still have my devilishly handsome charms?” Kokichi’s cheeks flush red. No. No. NO!! Sure. Amami is pretty. He can't deny that, but he refuses to let him win this game.

“No,” Kokichi huffs, crossing his arms. “you look like an ugly. . . cabbage.”

FOR FUCKSAKE. AN UGLY CABBAGE??? _REALLY_???

As soon as the words left Kokichi’s mouth he wanted to stab himself. Of all the stupid shit he could have said. . . He was aiming for something that didn’t actually offend Amami-chan but he didn't want to admit that he thought Amami was pretty. But calling him a goddamn _cabbage_ didn't accomplish either!

Sighing internally, he really hopes he gets his talent back soon. He can't even make decent lies or insults. This is getting a little too unnerving, even for himself and he’s seen some things.

No.

That’s not it.

He’s too open and vulnerable like this. All it does is reveal how pathetic he is and it disgusts him.

“ _Perhaps, we could research the various species of birds?_ ” Kokichi glances to the side with a huff, the Yacchi still tucked under his arm. Also this stupid and thoughtful gift tells everyone when he’s stressed. He really is a fucking mess. . .

“Hey, are you alright Ouma-kun?” Amami-chan’s voice is kind and patient. It’s like a knife in is chest. Kokichi. . . has never indulged the thought of loving another. The idea of love or letting others in was completely destroyed when Tamekichi murdered their parents before his very eyes with that gleeful and sadistic smile that unnaturally stretched across his face.

But. . . the kindness he’s been given, people’s ernest attempts to understand and help him makes his chest flutter. It’s _terrible._ It’s literally the worst goddamn thing possible. Kazehaya-chan knows damn well how dangerous it is -- how dangerous Tamekichi is -- and yet people are still greeting him with a smile.

They're going to die.

Die because of him.

And they’ll hate him for how he’s ruined everything for them.

Kokichi returns to reality as he feels a hand gently touching his forearm. Amami-chan’s expression is a bit concerned as he gentle pulls the smaller male down to the edge of the bed beside him.

“What’s on your mind?” Oh Christ. As if he’s gonna spill all of that.

“I’m just worried about you. What happened last night?” Goddamnit. The words came out before he could stop himself.  It wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't a lie either. He was worried about Amami-chan ever since he ran into Momota-chan last night and was informed of what occurred. . . He hardly expected that idiot astronaut to pull him into his arms the moment he was about to burst into worried and distressed tears.

Curse Kaito Momota and his stupid big gay heart.

“Oh. . .” With an awkward laugh, Amami rubs the back of his head. “Well to be honest, I spent pretty much every Monocoin I had trying to win that for you.” He motions to the Yacchi now seated in Kokichi’s lap. Kokichi blinks. To be completely honest, he’s still utterly baffled by this news. Someone honest to god spent time and ‘money’ to win _him_ something.

“Why. . .? Why would you waste your time doing something so stupid?” Yet again, these words tumbled out of his mouth without control. Amami-chan tits his head, giving him a confused look.

“Stupid? But you’re holding onto the Yacchi! If anything, that proves my efforts weren’t useless at all.” Again, Kokichi finds himself blushing. Curse Amami-chan and his smooth talking! “Ah, but, it was after cleaning dishes from dinner did I start using the MonoMono Gatcha in the student store. . . That was around seven-thirty. . . I think?”

“You think?” Kokichi repeats, raising a brow. Amami-chan sheepishly chuckles, rubbing the back of his head.

“I’m sorry to admit, not a lot of details are clear to me. . .” Kokichi frowns, bringing a finger to his chin with a hum.

“Well, any sort of information will help Saihara-chan. . .”

“Oh? Is he investigating what happened?” And in that moment, Kokichi realized Amami-chan has no idea what happened after he was attacked. Kazehaya-chan was with him, but he was most likely unconscious at the time and she didn't even learn what happened until she left Amami-chans side and returned to the dorms. It. . . It made him feel uncomfortable that he had to deliver this.

“No. . .Saihara-chan. . . Saihara-chan was kidnapped by whoever attacked you.” Again, Yacchi offers him a subject to research. Kokichi hugs the plush a little tighter, trying his best to suppress his worries and fears about whatever could have happened to Saihara-chan. On the other hand, Amami-chan looks horrified by this revelation.

“He was . . . kidnapped. . .?”

“Yeah.” Kokichi numbly admits. “I think everyone knows because everyone is crawling all over the place. . .”

“I-I see. . .” Amami-chan is silent for several moments. His body hunched over, his closed fists pressed to his forehead. “I’m pretty sure I left around sometimes past ten. The nighttime announcement came on and the cubs were talking about how to cook a dish. Some sort of chicken and rice dish?”

“Oyakodon!” Monokid shouts from the medical desk he was seated at for the moment. With that said, he turns back to whatever he was working on.

“I suppose it was oyakodon then. . .” Amami mumbles. “Regardless, I remember existing the school building and . . . and someone attacked me. I. . . I remember pulling out the knife Kazehaya-san gave me for protection. . . but. . .” Amami-chan pauses. His hands fly to his pants pockets, patting around in search of something and it takes Kokichi a moment to realize he’s looking for the knife. Amami-chan sweats a bit. “ . . .It’s gone. . .”

  * “ **Amami’s Testimony** ”; On the night of the incident, Amami was one of the three on dish duty. After taking care of dishes he went to the Student Store at about seven-thirty in order to win something for Ouma at the MonoMono Gatcha. It took him about three or so hours to win the prize he was looking for, the others were left behind in the Student Store for others to take or be placed back in the machine. At about ten-thirty two, he left the school building where he was attacked. He has no clear memory of who attacked him or why, but he does recall brandishing the **Melody Pocket Knife** to defend himself.
  * “ **Helper Yacchi** ”;A prize that can be won from the MonoMono Gatcha in the school store. According to Amami’s jumbled testimony, he spent hours trying to win this prize from the machine in order to give it to Ouma. According to Shuuichi it provides the person holding it with a research subject if distressed in order to distract them.
  * “ **Melody Pocket Knife** ”; An enchanted knife given to Rantarou from Yuuki. He recalls brandishing the knife in an act of self-defence, however, it’s gone missing ever since Amami was attacked.



“Gone?” Kokichi repeats. Amami-chan isn’t irresponsible to lose things like that. That would mean that his attacker stole the knife too. . .  And the only logical reason he could reach was because the kidnapper _had_ to take the knife with them but **why** would they do that. . .?

“Damn, this is terrible. . .” Amami-chan bemoans, placing his face in his hands. “She said it was a gift from her father. . .”

“I’m sure she’ll understand Amami-chan!” Kokichi puts forth a smile, because if there is anything he’s learned about Kazehaya-chan, it’s she’s so grossly forgiving about situations that are beyond anyone’s control. But Amami-chan lets out a deep sigh, dragging his fingers down his face. His fingertips begin to slowly trace over the scars on his face before his hands fall to his lap with another disappointed sigh.

“Even so, it was still something precious to her. . . I should have done a little better to protect it.”

“Don't talk like that!” Kokichi shouts, surprising the taller male. “Onee-chan would say your life is way more valuable than a knife!! There’s only one of us, so our lives are precious! That’s what she believes in! I. . . .I think so too! There’s only one Amami-chan and I never want to lose you either!” Amami-chan owlishly blinks. It made things rather clear that he expected the other to say something as sweet as that. . . and the red blush on Kokichi’s face said that he never expected himself to say something that either.

A smile suddenly splits across Amami-chan’s face. His hand reaches out and gently brushes a long strand of hair behind Kokichi’s ear.

“You’re so kind Ouma-kun. . .” Amami-chan’s voice is so soft and warm. Kokichi’s face turned a darker shade of red and he couldn't look the other in the eye.

“D-Don't say something so stupid. . .” Amami-chan laughs, his voice ringing like such beautiful music to Kokichi’s ears.

“HEY YA BASTARD!” Monokid suddenly shouts, rolling over to the bed occupied by the two teens. They both give him a tired expression. “Don't look at me like that for doing my job!! We have to change your bandages!!”

“‘We’?” Kokichi questions. Monokid tosses a roll of bandages and gauze into his lap.

“Well, I mean you.” The cub points to Amami-chan with a huff. “This asshole has a weird dust on him. We bears can't touch his injury because of that. It makes my job complicated.” Kokichi squints his his eyes.

  * “ **Strange Dust** ”; A strange dust was found on Amami’s face. Apparently, it brings harm to Monokid -- hinting to its **Holy Magic** related origins -- so Yuuki was asked to help assist in cleaning the wound and the following morning Ouma was asked to help change Amami’s bandages. Despite its unknown origins, it does not harm Amami.



“Why does _that_ exist. . .?” Amami-chan uselessly shrugs.  He’s just as confused to why this is a thing. Kokichi sighs, shaking his head before climbing onto his knees and gently turning Amami’s head in his direction. Monokid jumps off his chair and stands behind Amami in order to unwrap the bandages around his head. The clump of cloth falls, draping itself on Amami’s shoulders. Carefully, Kokichi reaches out for the tall male and peels away the gauze covering his right eye.

A shaky sigh of relief escapes him when he sees that Amami’s eye is stitched close. He wasn't exactly given a great description from Momota-chan, in fact he said the state of Amami-chan’s eye was ‘soup’. He was kinda afraid to see a gaping hole waiting for him.

“A tarsorrhaphy seemed like the best option given the injury.” Monokid explains, placing the dirty supplies into a hazard bag. “There’s no fuckin’ way he’d ever see out that eye ever again.” With a strange sense of calmness, he cuts an appropriate size of gauze and hands it to Kokichi. Once he places the material down, Amami-chan holds it in place allowing Kokichi to wrap the bandages around his head and easily secure it into place.

“Alright you can go now!” Monokid suddenly shouts, tossing Amami a plastic bag full of gauzes, bandages, and packets of ointment. “Just remember to clean the wound and change it daily. Or after a bath. If anything weird happens, come back ASAP.”

The two humans glanced between each other and back to the cub. It was . . . incredibly odd to see the loud screaming rockstar cub acting mildly normal and . . . taking pride in acting like a doctor? How weird.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sluts for-FUCKING-real?” Iruma-san demands, watching Kiibo and Gonta shuffle around in the nook of cleaning supplies inside Toujou-san’s lab. Kiibo sighs, standing up tall to give her an exasperated look. Which wasn't very tall given his height.

“I know finding Saihara-kun is important. . . but we cannot ignore our chores! We spent a good portion of the morning looking and you promised that we would work together to do our chores today!” Miu grimaces, muttering something about how she wished her special Roombas were finished. Kiibo wasn't sure what a Roomba was. . . but he was uncomfortable for some reason.

“Oh. . .” Gonta suddenly murmurs. He looks a bit saddened causing Kiibo to return to his side to see what’s going on. By the cleaning supplies closet was an overturned bottle of bleach, the wood now destroyed as it was now a shade lighter than the rest.

  * “ **Bleach Stained Wooden Floor** ”; There’s a stain of bleach on the floor next to an overturned bottle on the floor. To go unnoticed for so long, that would mean it’s been there for quite a while.



“That’s disappointing. . . It was such a nice floor too. . .”

“What a fucking asshole!” Iruma-san shouts. “Leaving this shit for us to clean up! I bet they didn't even fix the stock list after wetting their goddamn pants!” Shouting in annoyance, Iruma-san yanks a clipboard off off the hook attached to the closet and glances it over before squatting down to count the bottles of bleach on the lower shelves. She looks between the clipboard, the closet and the clipboard again before counting one. . .twice. . . three times. . .

Jumping up to her feet, she slaps the clipboard against Kiibo’s chest. Kiibo winces and fumbles to grasp the clipboard, looking to the ex-inventor with confusion. He failed to notice that his fingers were touching her own. Iruma-san’s face exploded a bright red color.

“Iruma-san, what is it. . .?”

“N-Nothing. . . just. . .just count the bottles. . .” She mumbles. Kiibo raises a brow, feeling a bit concerned about her behavior which makes her uncomfortably squirm in place. “. . .P-Please Kiibo?”

“I-I suppose so. . .” For some reason. . . he suddenly found these action kinda cute? He’s never associated the word cute with Iruma-san before. She was a bit strange but, she had a genuine interest in him as a robot, but also as a human boy. It was nice to see, despite the lack of what made him -- well -- him, Iruma-san still wanted to spend time with him. Feeling heat rush to his cheeks, Kiibo quickly shuffles away to do as Iruma-san requested of him.

He quietly and carefully counts the number of bottles containing bleach. . .  to find that the number written on the paper was different from what they actually had. If that was the case. . . that would mean they’re two bottles short. Curious about this discrepancy he began to check the other numbers. All eight mops were present but one of the four spares were missing and the boxes containing a roll of black gallon bags were arranged to give the impression that all of them were present, but one box was missing.

Humming with a thoughtful finger to his lip, Kiibo looks over the clipboard and the number and back to the closet of supplies. All of this lead to conclusion, someone purposely tampered with data on the papers. But who and why was beyond him.

  * “ **Stock List** ”; A stock list was organized by Yuuki in order to keep track of all the cleaning supplies. However, someone has messed with the numbers.



**COMBINE EVIDENCE!**

  * “ **Stock List** ”; A stock list was organized by Yuuki in order to keep track of all the cleaning supplies. However, someone has messed with the numbers.
  * “ **Bleach Stained Wooden Floor** ”; There’s a stain of bleach on the floor next to an overturned bottle on the floor. To go unnoticed for so long, that would mean it’s been there for quite a while.



**_> >_ **

  * “ **Cleaning Supplies Closet** ”; Reviewing the stock list, there seems to be two bottle of bleach missing -- one presumably the knocked over bottle -- along with a box of black gallon trash bags and a mop.



 

* * *

 

“Hekoten, Harumaki, are you guys here?” Kaito calls, entering Iruma’s Talent Lab. He finds Harumaki in a recliner chair, dozens of wires plugged into the back of her neck and limbs and Hekoten was sleeping her life away, her head resting on Miu’s messy desk.

The door suddenly slams behind Kaito, making him jump a bit, and Hekoten suddenly jerks up right, a sheet of paper sticking to her face. She scrambles for her glasses and slides them into place on her face. Seeing how the visitor is only Kaito, she lets out a sigh.

“G-Good morning Momota-kun. . .” 

“Hey,” He greets right back. He motions his head over to the metallic recliner Harumaki is sleeping in. “Is she okay now?”

“Y-Yes!” Hekoten jumps up from the seat she was in and rushes over to the computer hub next to the recliner. She fiddles with some buttons that cause the seat to move into a proper upright position and with a few more buttons the cables disengage from Harumaki’s neck and her collar is reattached to her body.

. . .

The first thing Harumaki sees when she reboots is Kaito. . . and she immediately punches him in the face. Kaito winces, but luckily, his nose is not broken. Still, he puts on a grin and gives a thumbs up.

“Alright! She’s roaring and ready to go!” He beams. Harumaki gives him a look torn between disgust and annoyance.

“Ready to go where?”

“Ah,” Kaito’s playfulness fades and he plants his hands on his hip with a serious expression. “To find clues to whoever took Shuuichi. Ouma is gathering an account of what happened from Amami and Kiriri is working with Hoshi to rescue Shuuichi at this moment.” Harumaki looks. . . doubtful of this plan. Perhaps only Ouma’s involvement in it.

“And you trust Ouma to gather a testimony, with no problems?” Kaito rubs the back of his head with a sigh.

“He likes Amami. I’ll be fine. . .”

“May I. . . .May I come along?” Hekoten begs, her hands folded together. “I haven't been able to do much for everyone else. . . so I want to do whatever I can to help Saihara-kun!” And suddenly, the words from the woman he loves comes to mind.

 

* * *

 

_“. . . I just want to do more for you._

_I don’t like sitting around and feeling useless while you have so much to deal with.”_

 

_“Do you really think your efforts are useless?”_

 

* * *

 

“Hey, don’t talk down on yourself. Losing Shirogane, someone you’ve known for a long time, was hard on you and even you said you're doing your best to move forward now.” With a smile, he gives her a thumbs up. “Any progress you make is valuable. Besides! You repaired Harumaki! You’re the only one who could have done that! It’s incredible!” In response to his kind words, Hekoten’s pale cheeks lit up and a dreamy smile crossed her face.

“O-Oh! Thank you! Gosh, that's so nice of you Momota-kun!” A thought suddenly occurs to the young woman and with a gasp, she rushes off to her desk once more. When she returns to the two she presents a wooden stake to the two of them. “I extracted this from Harukawa-san’s body during repairs last night.”

  * “ **Wooden Stakes** ”; A number of the wooden stakes extracted from Maki’s body by Ikiko during the repair process. If she was not a robot, she would have most certainly received a grave injury.



“. . . Damn. . . Kiriri was right on this one. . .” Kaito sweats at the thought of that pierced his side. That. . . That certainly could have injured him or worse, killed him.

“Again.” Harumaki adds with a snort. Kaito side eyes the girl-turn-robot to find that Harumaki has a smug look on her face. Like hell if he’ll be defeated by that! Puffing his chest out, Kaito leads the way back to the stairs of the school building and then retraces his steps back to the woods. Before he could enter it Harumaki extends an arm, bumping into his chest.

He blinks, giving her an odd look. Without explaining a thing, she points to the dirt. Kaito blinks. There were very evident traces of someone’s footsteps being erased and trampled over. This was most likely the work of the kidnapper when they made their escape and Kaito as he fled from the scene with Harumaki’s body last night.

“Not a single clear one. . .” Hekoten frowns. “If we had that, we could at least get a height on the person. . .”

“They seem to know what they’re doing.” Harumaki mumbles. “Experienced perhaps?”

“E-Experienced?” Kaito sputters.

“Experienced.” Harumaki repeats. “Think about it, Kazehaya hangs out with you and Saihara. There’s no way to get to Shuuichi without her getting in the way. However, her empathy and love for others is both her greatest strength and weakness. By attacking Amami, she would inevitably stay by his side. . .”

“Then, by default, it would just be me hanging around with him.” Kaito grumbles, placing a hand on his hip.

“It would be easy to remove Momota-kun with a trap. . .” Hekoten quietly adds. “. . .What kind of traps needs wood stakes?” Harumaki uncomfortably glanced away and Kaito decides to pursue the answer by entering the woods once more. It felt different walking through the woods with the sun shining down on them and there wasn't the same adrenaline as before.

Thankfully, Harumaki literally had a photographic memory and was able to correctly direct them back to the scene. Like the night before, Kaito approached a tree and stroked the discolored patch on the tree. The dark red-brownish color indicated that he really did smell blood.

A long branch was tied to this tree with heavy rope, at the end of the branch was a long length of of wood with with four holes carved into it and two stakes were inserted into these holes. There were a number of short sticks in the ground and one taller one planted in the ground, close to the tree.

Hekoten picked up a string of thin wire and glanced over the trap before it all comes together in her head. As an Inventor now, it’s far too easy to figure out how things go together and how to reverse engineer them. She pulls the wooden stakes from her pockets and slots them back into place on the block of wood.

She grabs the wire wrapped around the block of wood on the long branch and feeds it through the hooks attached to the smaller sticks punched into the ground. Kaito and Maki watch her pull the string taught, causing the branch to bend around the taller stick planted into the ground.

“This is how the trap works,” Hekoten motions to a stake in the ground a distance away from the tree. “Usually the string would be tied to that stick or something like that, when walking the victim would end up pulling that stick out of the ground by walking in the path of the wire.”

“I’m pretty sure they cut it though. . .” Kaito mutters, rubbing the back of his head. “I remember like, a glint of light bouncing off something. . .”

“Ah, that’s just as possible!” Hekoten smiles. “We don't know the exactly length of the wire right now and I’m just working with what’s still in one piece. If all of this is one piece, I’d have to assume the original length was longer and perhaps wrapped around a branch. . .  Nevertheless, on these types of traps they’re tied up so tightly and the moment the tension is released,” To make her point, Hekoten releases the wire causing the loaded branch to violently swing forward with a snap. “They act like this. It’s very basic engineering. . .”

  * “ **Trip Wire Trap** ”; The trap that was used to disable Maki during the kidnapping. The trap was located inside the woods on the school campus.



**COMBINE EVIDENCE!**

  * “ **Wooden Stakes** ”; A number of the wooden stakes extracted from Maki’s body by Ikiko during the repair process. If she was not a robot, she would have most certainly received a grave injury.
  * “ **Trip Wire Trap** ”; The trap that was used to disable Maki during the kidnapping. The trap was located inside the woods on the school campus.



**_> >_ **

  * “ **Trip Wire Trap** ”; The trap the **Wooden Stakes** came from. The trap was repaired and tested by Ikiko with Kaito and Maki present. By stepping in the path of  -- or cutting the wire -- the triggering mechanism would activate, causing the branch covered in stakes to swing at the victim, impaling them which would either severely injure them or kill them.



Hekoten’s smile fades just a bit as she stares at the trap once more. “This. . .uh, this unfortunately does not tell us who did it although. . .”

“But you DID prove this thing was what we encountered last night!” Grinning Kaito gives her another thumbs up, causing her face to explode with red.

“U-Um, do you remember anything. . . about the kidnapping?” She fumbles, playing with her fingers.

“Personally, I didn't see anything.” Harumaki sighs. “As soon as the trap activated, I tackled Momota out of the way and I fell on top of him.”

“ . . . How about before?” Hekoten asks, reaching into a pocket of her suit to pull out her notebook and pen. “The moments leading up to it, to be exact. You never did explain the whole story to me. . .”

“Kazehaya was helping me with the final modifications for my lab.” Harumaki begins with a hushed laugh. “Monokuma did a rather poor job of preparing it and having her opinion did help since she _is_ a mother after all. It took some time and we finished about ten-thirty seven. . . We had some. . . _girl_ talk. . .” It was a lie and even saying that made Harumaki feel awkward. Puffing her cheeks out, she plays with her synthetic hair for a bit. Thankfully, it didn’t look that out of place when she brought up the discovery of Amami’s body at about ten-forty five.

“Kazehaya screamed and panicked for a bit before the Monokubz arrived and carried Amami to the hospital wing. Then Momota and Saihara arrived before I sent her after Amami. I don’t trust those cubs to have actual medical training.”

  * “ **Maki’s Testimony** ”; According to Maki’s testimony she was in her lab with Yuuki on the day of the kidnapping and they finished work at ten-thirty seven. At ten forty-five they found Amami’s body on the stairs of the academy.



“I see. . .” Hekoten mutters as she jots down the information in her notebook. “Why were you out so late Momota-kun?”

“Easy! Shuuichi and I workout together!” Kaito beams with pride but the girls look at him as if he’s said the most ridiculous thing.

“You two. . . workout?” Hekoten repeats.

“Yep! The three of us!” Kaito pauses to pout, recalling that the third member _was_ absent that day. “Well, Kiriri _is_ supposed to join us but she didn’t that night. . . but Harumaki’s story explained where she ran off to. . . Anyway, after the nighttime announcement, we went over the the arbor covered in wisterias and did a hundred pushups!” Harumaki snorts off to the side causing the two to look at her with confusion.

“You can’t do a hundred Momota. Who are you trying to kid?” Kaito puffs out his chest and looks as proud as he possibly could.

“I can _so_ do a hundred. Come to one of our workouts and I’ll show you.” It was a lie. She could probably tell but he wasn't backing down. Snorting once more, she replies with a simple ‘sure’ before returning the stage back to him. “Ah, right, we waited for a while for Kiriri but she never showed up, so Shuuichi suggested to go on ahead as she would have a good reason to miss out on training if she wasn’t around. So we did our sets and during our break. . . we heard shouting.”

“Shouting. . .” Hekoten repeats once more, nodding to herself as she jots down the information. She pushes her glasses up and looks back to Kaito. “Was that when Amami-kun was attacked?” Kaito pauses for a moment and thoughtfully strokes his chin. He then shakes his head with a sigh.

“No, it was Kiriri,” He explains. “It was loud and horrified. Which makes sense since she just found Amami’s body. . .” Hekoten pauses.

“That. . . .That doesn't make sense.” She mutters, placing her pen inside her pocket notebook and folding it close. Kaito owlishly blinks.

“Huh?” Harumaki narrows her optics, casting Kaito a deadly look.

“She means, how could you be outside ‘training’ and _not_ hear someone screaming out in pain as they’re assaulted?”

“I-I mean it! I was outside training with Shuuichi! We _both_ approached you and Kiriri!”

“That was _after_ Amami was attacked.” She points out. Kaito sweats a bit. Okay. She’s right on that and without Shuuichi to vouch for him, it really wasn't looking good for him.

“Look, I mean it!” Kaito exclaims, placing a hand to his chest. “I didn't hear or see a thing, the grass is STILL too tall to even see past, but that's besides the point. I was focused on my training the entire time! As soon as Hoshi and Kiriri come back with Shuuichi, he can and will vouch for me!” Harumaki and Hekoten give him a long hard look before sighing. Harumaki brings a finger to her lip as she thinks things over.

“Then, perhaps he was gagged while he was attacked and you were probably loudly and obnoxiously chatting Saihara up. . . Either way, this person knew what they were doing. It’s too meticulously planned out. . .”

“That does seem like the case. . .” Hekoten sighs, flipping her notebook open and picking her pen up once more. “Then, what happened afterwards?”

“Well, like Harumaki said, we heard Kiriri screaming and approached the steps of the school, which is when we found out about Amami. Kiriri went off with Amami to make sure he was fine and I. . . I stupidly decided to investigate who attacked Amami. I saw a trail of blood heading to the woods, Harumaki and Shuuichi tried to talk me out of it but I didn't listen. . . and well, we fell in the trap.”

“I see, did you manage to see the kidnapper at all?”

“Nah, too dark to really see anything. I remember someone with long hair, but beyond that, no other details.” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back if his head. “Harumaki also fell on top of me, so she couldn’t see the person.” Ikiko hums.

  * “ **Kaito’s Testimony** ”; After the nighttime announcement, Kaito and Shuuichi went outside to do their usual training regiment but after waiting for a while they decided to start training without Yuuki. At ten-forty five they heard Yuuki screaming and they arrived on the scene after Amami was carted away for medical attention and Yuuki went with him. Kaito then insisted on following a trail of blood leading to the woods in order to corner Amami’s attacker. However, a **Trip Wire Trap** was sprung, and all Kaito could see was the a glimpse of someone with long hair.



“Uhm. . . with the process of elimination that brings us to Shinguuji-kun, Gonta, Iruma-san and Chabashira-san.” Hekoten offers. Kaito shakes his head.

“It can't be Gonta. The person was too thin. . .” Kaito thoughtfully strokes his chin with a hum. “To be honest, it’s hard to make a decision. Maybe there will be more clarity when Kiriri and Hioshi return with Shuuichi?”

“Maybe. . . I guess we should head back now?” With a nod of his head, Kaito leads the way out of the woods. To be honest, there was one more person who had long hair. Kiriri in her true appearance. However, that doesn’t make any sense. Kiriri would never hurt Shuuichi or Amami she cares too much for both of them to do anything like that. . .

_And, he trusts her with absolute certainty._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ikiko is def one of those people who easily get crushes on others due to kindness and praise as she’s lived a rather empty life. We’ll explore that at another time. . . .


	25. {02} Unordinary Days {03}

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“You know, you never answered my question.” Ryouma points out moments after our elevator ride began.

“Question?” I parrot, tilting my head to the side.

“Are you sure you want to work with a guy like me?”

“Oh, right. . .” I let out an awkward laugh, scratching my cheek. “Well, as a preacher to a goddess of hope, I certiantly can't approve of your actions. . . My journals say all life is precious, even if those yakuza guys were shit.” Beside her, Ryouma snorts a bit. “But as one person to another, I probably would have done the same . . .”

I was close to it at one point.

Before officially returning to work, I briefly joined a magic guild for training. . . and when a rival guild took one of my fiancés hostage, I was pissed. Not only did they damn near _destroy_ our guild base and brutally beat some of our members to the brink of unconsciousness. . .they had the _audacity_ to kidnap my fiancé -- someone with absolutely no magic -- and _tortured_ him to the point he was _dying_.

I was ready to totally and utter grind those fuckers into dust under the soles of my boots. I would have, had not one of my guildmates got in the middle of the fight and told me to go after my fiancé instead. He said, how I was acting was not like ‘me’.

He wasn't right but he wasn't wrong either. I’ll say and do shitty things in fits of anger or despair when someone I care for is hurt. I can hurt other people like anyone else. . . but even so, I never want to be the kind of person that ends up killing another.

“People do insane things for the people they love, even after they’re gone. The bonds we share compel to do things we wouldn't believe in or usually do. I can see, despite your actions, you hold an amount of regret. Maybe not for the yakuza, but for the fact they were humans and you end their lives. . . You never did run away from the crimes you committed and decided to face them head on, and because of that, I think you’re still a decent person.” Ryouma quietly hums, fiddling with his candy cigarette.

According to my scriptures, just like Kaede, he will be judged for his actions when he dies. A bit harsher than her but judged nonetheless. He’d probably quickly make his way to the Gray Garden.

“What are these journals you mentioned?”

“Huh? Oh, I. . . I have a bad memory so I write down notes so I can read them if I’m having issues remembering shit. . .” With an awkward laugh, I rub the back of my head. “I’ve had them for years. . . but my handwriting looks like shit.”

“Got one on hand?” I squint my eyes.

“Uhh. . . why?”

“I’d hate to say it but the way you're still able to talk about your religion is suspicious. Almost like it’s a coverup for something else.”

Sure, _technically,_ it was but I’m the asshole making the scripts up. At least for my section of the Council. All the ideals and morals about hope are my feelings. . . but I was thirteen at the time I first joined as a Sage. There was no goddamn way my ADHD riddled ass was going to remember everything I was taught by my seniors or how the reincarnation cycle worked.

Still, the last thing I need is to make someone doubt me, and so, with a reluctant sigh I pull one of my journals from my purse. Thankfully, he isn’t reading it. In fact he’s simply thumbing through it, and inspecting the yellowed pages and dates jotted down in it.

“So you’ve been preaching for. . . six years?”A beat passes and Ryouma hums for a few minutes before handing the journal back to me. “It’s full of weird shit, shit that makes no sense to me, but none of it has any bad intentions to it at all.” He suddenly gives me a pointed look. “But, I got my eye on you. You could easily alter documents with your magic, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I sigh, crossing my arms. “But there’s no point to that. It would be too much of an effort to constantly alter that many journals. And for the record, I have ten of them.” His face falls a bit.

“Why so many. . .?”

“I’ve dealt with a lot of weird magic shit and I keep logs for reference sake or to keep my thoughts coherent. If I tried to remember everything I’d have an aneurysm one day.”

“Fair.” He concedes.

[ **\- Hope Searching -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxH3z9cozVg)

A ding signals that the elevator has reached the appointed floor. The doors silently slide open and the key in the elevator panel turns on it’s own, releasing itself from the lock to be collected by myself.

The waiting hallway had a different look than the lobby, a wide hallway carpeted with red, lined with large potted plants and walls painted with a golden hue. The rooms were spaced out quite a bit, three on excised of the hall and all labeled, which made for an easy job to find the suite labeled as number two.

Despite the sign being there, I can't help but examine it for traces of it being tampered. Thankfully, the sign is firmly in place and there were no signs of the white paint job being scraped or damaged.

If that was the case. . .

“Alright, do me a favor and stand back.” Ryouma raises a brow but complies with my simple request. I reach into my purse to draw out a katana -- The saya was composed of white lacquered wood decorated with an intricate design of lilies, my favorite flowers, painted in gold.

The white tsuka, decorated with silver diamond shaped menukis for grip, is wrapped in pale blue samegawa and fitted with a silver kashira and a matching tsuba. The sageo was an pale blue to match the samegawa, and hanging from the silver shitodome was a charm in the shape of the Blooming Hart. -- the _Devilman_. Ryouma’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Is that a katana?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty sharp so stand back.” I have no idea if it can actually hurt a person if I’m gonna be honest. After all, Hibiki designed it to harm those of her bloodline. . . but it’s still a sword at the end of the day. I took a breath and swing the blade. For a moment, it almost looks like nothing happened, but a brief line of light moves horizontally across the door, above the lock and doorknob.

Easily, I sheathe the blade and slowly, the portion of the door above the lock creeks as it easing into the room like it was a dutch door. . .but. . .

[ **\- Fallin’ Love -** ](https://youtu.be/Ga_RF_mRZKw)

. . .

It feels like I’m looking into the gates of hell.

Directly before me I’m forced to witness a gaudy as hell hot pink-and-black camo carpet, a horse from a carousel circling a round bed that had the canopy and shields of a carousels’ top hangs over the bed and a giant heart shaped mirror behind the bed’s frame.

I’m about to turn away from the bed when I notice someone is on it. A small shaking figure, choking on their sobs and whimpering in fear, trying to curl their body into an even smaller ball to avoid being noticed.

“Shuuichi!” I shout before I could stop myself. He’s clearly terrified but god. I’m so happy. He’s safe! He really is safe.

“He’s in there?” Ryouma questions, too short to see over the door and see into the room himself. I nod my head, my trembling fingers fumbling to turn the lock on the door from the inside of the room.

“Kaze . . . Kazehaya. . . san?” The false name slips past his lips with a trembling sob as he struggles to lift his body up from the sheets that surround his body

“You’re fine! Everything is fine now Shuuichi!” But instead of calming him like I hoped, my words causes him to break out into a fresh set of tears, a gutteral sob that he attempts to muffle by pressing his face to the sheets. I manage to finally get the door unlocked and rush into the room -- ignoring everything else around me as I drop the Devilman to the floor -- and jump onto the bed. It surprises Shuuichi just a bit causing a shaky gasp escapes him.

I swiftly help him onto his knees, softly assuring him everything was fine, before gently pushing the damp blindfold above his eyes and off his head. Slowly, his eyes open and the moment his golden eyes gaze on my face, his brows screwed up and tears bubbled forth once more.

“K-Kazehaya-saaaaan. . .!” He lets out a wail, throwing his body weight against my own. Although his sobs pulled at my heartstrings, the fact he’s here in my arms finally puts my heart at ease. My arms wrap around his trembling body. Before I could stop myself, a hand threads through his hair and I gently tilt his head down so I could press a soft kiss to the crown of his head.

“It’s okay. Cry as much as you want. . .I’m here for you. . . you’re safe now. . .” And so, he sobs. I carefully thread my hands through his hair once more and run a hand down his backside, rubbing circles to help calm him down. Once he was calm enough, I began to work on removing the ropes binding him.

A coil of rope wrapped around his upper body, pinning his arms to his side, and with his arms folded behind his back the section of the rope was connected to the rope that bound his wrists together. Once I managed to pull the knot free and unwound the rope around his wrists I winced. His wrists were a bruised an ugly dark shade, indicating whoever kidnapped him really didn’t give two shits.

Shuuichi quickly took his wrists back, rubbing the skin as he whispered a soft thank you between a sniffle. I managed to give him a smile before getting to work on the rope that bound his ankles and upper thighs together.

. . .

God. I wish I had my knife right now but I had to work with what I had and using the _Devilman_ was not exactly an option unfortunately. It takes a little more time but I managed to pry the knots apart. I'm lucky that I haven't chewed off my goddamn nails in nervousness.

“How are you?” I ask as I place my hands on his shoulders. Shuuichi glances away from me, looking both a bit nervous and awkward.

“I’m fine. . .” He mumbles. “Tired I guess. I . . . I was too afraid to sleep. . .”

“That’s fair.” I nod. “You’re probably starving too. . .”

“N-No I’m perfectly fine!” However, he is betrayed by his rumbling stomach. His face flushed red and his arms wrap around his midsection as he avoids looking at me.   

“How about I put something together for you once we leave?”

“Okayu is a good choice.” Ryouma’s voice rumbles, reminding me he was here. Both Shuuichi and I turn our heads in the direction of his voice, a portion of the room -- separates by only thin transparent cream curtains -- that served as a bathroom with absolutely no privacy. Even with the curtains one could see every bit of the bathroom.

And whatever was there, Ryouma seemed to be pretty focused on it. He raises a brow, as if he knows I’m staring at him, and turns to the two of us. “Whaddya still doing here? Get Saihara outta here and leave the investigation to me. I’ll fill you in once I’m done here.”

[ **\- 有心論 ( Congratulations ) { Cover } -** ](https://youtu.be/7rKTVlLYiTc)

That’s. . . kinda sketchy sounding but I do trust him and I want to get Shuuichi out of here as soon as possible so I simply nod my head. Gently, I secured a hand under his knees and on his backside, and lifted his body up. Shuuichi’s face grew red and he attempted to protest but I refused to listen. After being tied up for so long, there’s no way he could simply walk all off.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” I beam. Cradling him in my arms, I climb off the bed and glance over to the _Devilman_ laying on the floor. The sheathed katana moves on its own, the sageo unravels itself and ties itself to the belt of my clothes.

Lucky for me, no one noticed this oddity. Not with Ryouma busily looking over things. Not with Shuuichi desperately trying to hide his flushed face. With a wide stride, I made my way out of the room and over to the elevator as quickly as possible. Thankfully the elevator was still waiting on our current floor so it didn’t take long for the door to slide open

However, the moment we stepped inside, Shuuichi forced his way out of my arms. . .  and as I predicted, he was unable to support his body. His shaky legs gave out under him and he fell to the shiny elevator floor. I quickly swooped in, wrapping an arm around his waist and, against better thoughts, I pulled him into my lap.

“Geez, it’s okay to rely on me. . . even if it’s a little bit.” I sigh.

“Sorry. . .I-I’m sorry. . . I’m happy, grateful even, that you came all this way for me. . . but this was probably. . . inconvenient for you . . .”

“Shuuichi. What the fuck.” The words come flying out my mouth before I could stop myself and I sound like a goddamn idiot. With an even heavier sigh, I rub my forehead in exasperation. “Why would you even _think_ that coming for you is an inconvenience for me?” Shuuichi was silent for a moment, his arms crossed and avoiding eye contact with me.

“. . .I. . . It’s not like I’m important. . . If anything happened to me, you could lead everyone in my place. . . I. . . I still don't understand why people put faith in me. . .”

What the fuck. . . Why would he even think of himself like this? I thought he was. . . I donno, getting a bit more positive? Has spending an entire night held captive and crying convinced him he was a burden? Or is this negativity about him far more deep rooted than I ever thought it was. . . ? I don't know . . . but, he’s still someone precious to me. . .

“Shut up!” I find myself shouting. I tightly secure my arms around Shuuichi’s body as his frame begins to shake. “Please. . . ! Don't ever say something about yourself like that. . . I prayed to **Aphrodite** for your safety because you mean to much to me. . . I would have been heartbroken if anything happened to you. . .” Shuuichi seemed to be at a lost with my earnest confession. His shoulders shake as quiet sobs escape him and tears begin to roll down his cheeks.

“Shuuichi. . .” I begin with a soft whisper. “I like you, a lot. I really do. . . I was terrified when I heard what happened and I’m beyond happy that you’re safe now. . .”

“Kazehaya-san. . .”

“Shuuichi. . .” My cheeks grew red as I steeled my courage. “Can I. . . Can I kiss you?” He pulls away, looking me in the eyes with a confused expression.

“H-Huh?”

“I wanna. . . kiss. . . you. . .” Ugh. I sound so stupid and embarrassing. . . but that’s the honest to god truth. I want to kill the boy I love and adore. The touch of shaking hands on my face brings me back to reality. Those beautiful eyes were looking to me with hesitation. . . but also longing. I smile in return, simply pressing my forehead to his for the time being.

He hasn’t said no, but he hasn’t said yes either, so right now, this is fine. I can feel my veil shifting and falling from my head -- making me take on my natural appearance -- and carefully, one of Shuuichi’s hands cards through curls of my long pearly hair.

 

 

He leans forward and I gladly meet him halfway allowing our lips to met. I wrap my arms around him as tightly as I could. I bring a hand to the nape of his neck, playing with the hair there. His lips are. . . they’re really soft and warm. Shuuichi is warm. Warm and alive. Safe in my arms.

I don’t. . . I don't want to let go of him again.

 

* * *

 

 

  * “ **Love Suite 02** ”; The room Shuuichi was found in. These suits are located on the top floor of the Love Hotel and can only be accessed with a **Key of Love** \-- an incredibly expensive prize from the Casino that’s worth 10k Coins.
  * “ **Burnt Bandages** ”; Burnt bandages that were found at the scene of Shuuichi’s captivity. They were found wrapped around the Devilman’s saya.  There’s something. . . abnormal about them.



 

* * *

 

As soon as I left the hotel I quickly crossed the school ground to deliver Shuuichi to the hospital wing. Monokid was beyond ecstatic to have a new patient. Shuuichi looked . . . concerned about this but I assured him that Monokid was actually a capable doctor -- somehow -- he looked reluctant to accept it but did in the end.

Exiting the clinic, I ran into Gonta, who had a plastic bag full of assorted foods and drinks. His eyes immediately lit up and a smile spread across his face.

“Kazehaya-san! Good afternoon!” He enthusiastically greets. “Gonta is glad to see you! Momota-kun said you were with Hoshi-kun to find Saihara-kun! If you’re here, that means Saihara-kun is okay! Gonta is very happy to hear this news!”

“Yeah, can you do me a favor actually?” He blinks before a smile stretched across his face.

“Gonta would love to help!”

“Can you stay by Shuuichi-kun’s side? I have to cook him something since he hasnt eaten since last night.”

“Oh! Gonta would be delighted to keep him company.” However, he frowns, looking down to the bag in his hands. “But. . . Gonta must deliver these snacks to the others in the dining hall. . .”

“I can take it to them for you, since I’m heading in that direction anyway.” I offer. Gotna hums, crossing his arms and looking a bit concerned.

“Is Kazehaya-san certain. . .?”

“I’m offering aren’t I?” I laugh. Gonta hums once more before agreeing with my words. Thanking him, I gratefully accept the bag and started to make my way down the hall to the dining hall. However, it felt like . . .  someone was watching me.

. . .

Against better thoughts, I glanced over my shoulder and spot Monodam standing at the end of the hallway, peering around a corner. . . just _fucking_ staring at me.

What the fuck.

 

* * *

 

_“. . . . . .”_

_“Attention students. . .”_

_“Student Shuuichi Saihara has been safely recovered. . .”_

_“. . . He is receiving a medical exam in the hospital wing at the moment. . .”_

_“In the next hour, he will be allowed visitors. . .”_

_“Thank you for your cooperation. . .”_

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -** ](https://youtu.be/BT8Kmh0XO9o)

The dining hall was filled with the sounds of rejoicing, which loudly poured out into the hallway the moment I opened the door. Miu was joyously cackling, trapping Kiibo in a hug that had him stuck in her chest. Kaito was laughing with joy as he attempted to lift Maki into the air and spin her about but it failed. Ikiko looked rather relieved while Angie hand her folded hands above her head and a peaceful smile on her face.

“As Atua said, a goddess and her messenger will arrive to save Shuuichi!” I loudly choked on my own spit, which in turn caused all attention to me. Kaito’s eyes sparkle with joy as he runs up to me, effortlessly lifting me up into the air.

“Alright! You did it Kiriri!” He grins as he places me back on my own feet.

“It was Hoshi-kun’s deduction that lead us to him in the first place. . . I was just backup. . .” I awkwardly laugh.

“And it was thanks to _your_ ** _favor_** you were able to get him into that sleazy Love Hotel so the two of ya could save Shuuichi!”

“LOVE HOTEL?!” Miu shrieks. “KINKY!!!!”

“That sounds. . . uncomfortable. . .” Ikiko mutters, her expression looking rather concerned. “He wasn’t. . . touched _that way_ was he. . .?” My face shifted uncomfortable as the implications became clear to me. It never once occurred to me that _could have_ happened given the environment. Miu’s face even fell as she realized what Ikiko was implying.

“. . . I never thought of that happening. . . but, I’m pretty sure it didn’t. . . Shuuichi didn’t show any signs of assault nor did he looked roughed up, at least not beyond a broken nose. . .”

It went without saying, but we would know in the hour for certain. . .

“Oh, are these the snacks Gonta said he’d get?” Kaito questions pointing to the plastic bag in my hands. I raised a brow but he’s smiling back, giving me a chance to change the subject. I smile just a bit.

“Yeah! I met him on the way back from the hospital wing. I asked him to keep Shuuichi company.”

“Nice!” Kaito grins, giving me a thumbs up. “Great job! Why don't you join us?”

“Ah, I’d love to but I promised to make Shuuichi-kun something. . .” I confess with an awkward smile as Kaito takes the bag from me. He’s about to offer a hand to help me but Kiibo beats him to the punch.

“Allow me to help!” With a loud shout, the young man’s face is red and his arm is raised in the air like a student trying to get the teacher’s attention. I quietly laugh, encouraging him to follow me into the kitchen. Kiibo’s eyes light up and he excitedly follows after me.

I head to a cabinet that contained a variety of pots and swiftly locate a white earthenware pot -- a donabe --  decorated with a cute sakura pattern.

“There’s fresh Salmon in the cooler, right?” I ask Kiibo as I pull the measuring cup off a shelf, setting it down by the pot.

“Oh, there should be! The cubs should have restocked the fridge this morning.” I was about to approach the cooler myself when I noticed the trashcan was full. I let out a sigh, scratching the back of my neck.

“Alright, grab a salmon while I run the trash. The people cleaning last night forgot to take it out so I’ll teach you how to gut it when I come back..”

“Oh Angie-san taught me last night since I wanted to learn how to cook!” Kiibo explains with a smile but his eyes drift off to the side and I follow his line of sight to see the knife block. However, I immediately notice something is off. The butcher knife is gone. “ . . . but, one of the knives seem to be missing. That’s a bit odd. . . I know I saw it last night. . .”

“Uh, well, you don't need a butcher knife to do the job. . .” I grab a fillet knife from the knife block and hand it to him. “Someone probably misplaced the butcher knife. Just be careful in the meantime, I’ll be right back.”

  * “ **Knife Block** ”; A knife block in the kitchen. The Butcher Knife is missing from its usual place, the knife found at the scene of the crime fits here. According to Kiibo the Knife was last seen during dinner preparations on **June 29th**.



That’s strange. . . I know for certain it was there yesterday morning and Kiibo said it was there last night. . . It doesn’t leave a good impression at all. . . Someone goes missing and knife too? God I hope someone misplace it instead. But it better not be in the washer. That's a damn good way to ruin a knife. . .

With a huff, I tie the trash bag close and exit the kitchen via the backdoor to visit the giant trash bin behind the school. I toss the bag over the edge of the bin and just as I’m ready to dust my hands and walk off, I realize the trash was emptied last night, the night of the tenth day we’ve been here. . . but there was something besides the bag I just threw out inside the bin.

I lean over the edge of the bin to get a better look at it, only to sigh in frustration as my limbs were too goddamn short. Curse my grandmother’s short genetics inherited while everyone else got tall people genes. Still, using a bit of magic to my advantage, I could totally grab it.

With a motion of my hand, a thin trail of water flowed out of my purse to wrap around the object and with a flick of my wrist, it flies up into the air for me to capture it on the way down.

. . .

It turned out to be a white plastic jug with the label torn off. Sure. Yeah. That’s not suspicious at all. Curious and concerned, I screw the blue cap off and bring it to my nose for a sniff. I don't know what I was expecting, but that. . . that wasn't it. It was some bizarre mix of citrus and vinegar. . . and the hint of something familiar under it. . .

Bleach?

What the hell can you make by mixing citrus, vinegar and bleach?

. . .

Wait. Isn’t mixing bleach and something together. . . .like dangerous?

Oh _shit_.

  * “ **Empty Jug** ”; It strangely smells of vinegar and citrus. . .  but there’s undoubtedly the smell of bleach underlying it all. The label is torn off.



 

* * *

 

There’s a proud smile on Kiibo’s face as he carries the tray with Shuuichi’s meal -- a bowl of okayu the white donabe, a long with it was four smaller bowls containing garnishes for the okayu; an umeboshi, scallions, salted salmon, and nori. -- to the hospital wing. He was incredibly proud for his work he put into cooking the salmon and copping the garnish.

It was pretty cute. . .

We arrive at the door outside the hospital wing to find Amami and Ouma hanging around, the latter was sitting on the floor, his knees to his chest and pouting.

“Ah, Kazehaya-san,” Amami greets with a smile, waving in my direction. My heart clenches at the sight of the scars on his face and the bandages wrapped around his head. “Hey, what’s with that look?” Heat rushes to my cheek and I awkwardly glance to the side, playing with the end of my veil.

“It’s stupid. . .but I just. . . kinda feel bad to see you hurt. . .” I pause for a moment before realizing that . . . didn't quite sound right. “I-I mean, like, there was no way I could have known what happened until it did happen. . .”

“Don't worry about it.” Amami laughs. “A missing eye isn’t going to stop me. . . And honestly, if anyone should apologize, it’s me.”

“What?” I reply in a flat tone. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Well, if I was paying more attention, I would have seen that attack coming for one.” He begins with an awkward chuckle. “. . .and I lost your knife.” A rather serious look suddenly crossed his face and his fists clenched uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. It was a momento from your father, right? I should have been far more careful with it when I drew it out to defend myself.” A beat passes but he’s still giving me this uncomfortable look.

“. . . Wait, do you seriously think I care _more_ about a knife from my dad than _you_?!” I demand incredulously. He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck and glanced to the side.

“You said it was rather important to you. . .”

“Well, yeah it _is_ but, holy shit, you’re kinda more important than it!” How could he think a knife had _more_ value to me than his own life and only because it’s from my dad? Geez. Despite calling himself the ‘useless older brother’ he really seems to have strong feelings for family. . . I wonder, could his need to adventure be tied to his family?

I glance to the side, noting Ouma demanding for Kiibo to hand over the tray it in order to feed Shuuichi himself. Flustered, the robot-turn-human denied Ouma any chance to do that by frantly lifted the tray above his head. They were both short so it didn’t do much in the end.

“Stop that before you spill the poor boy’s food.” I sigh. The two immediately deflate, which Ouma immediately takes advantage of to grab the tray and slip into the hospital wing, cackling. Kiibo chases after him, protesting the entire time. Amami lets out a sigh and is about to pursue the two of them but I catch him by his forearm. For a moment, my brain blanks as I struggles to tactfully bring this up.

“We have a situation. . .”

Great job me. You fucking nailed that one. Instead of looking at me like a goddamn idiot, Amami quizzically tilts his head.

“A situation?”

“I found a bottle in the trash bin while taking out the trash, but it smelled like bleach and vinegar. . . and uh, citrus and I’m pretty sure that’s not safe?”

“Well, vinegar and citrus are common household things used to remove the smell of bleach. . .” Sweat rolls down the side of Amami’s face as he crosses his arms and a grim expression on his face. “Mixing all three of those is another story however. . . **You get Mustard Gas instead**.”

“Holy _shit_.” I gasp. “Uhhhh. . . I think we should talk to Ikiko.”

“Your dropping last names again.” He gently reminds, a hint of a smile on his face.

“ _I’m panicking,_ ” I fumble, sweat trailing down the side of my head. “ _Formalities are dead._ ”

“Calm down,” He gently assures, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I’m certain Hekoten-san can make something to detect the gas. That’s why you suggested seeing her, right?”

“Yeah. . . She should be in the dining hall with the others. . .” Nodding his head with a confident smile, Amami takes me by my hand and leads the way back to the dining hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can ASSURE you  
> nothing of the sexual nature happened to shuuichi while in captivity  
> its only brought up because as is was writing the scene in the dining hall i realized the situation he would have those implications so I felt like someone should have to bring it up


	26. {02} Unordinary Days {04}

[ **\- Tenerife Sea { Acoustic Guitar Cover } -** ](https://youtu.be/m3I1I9o_Gn8)

“Saihara-chaaaan~!” Kokichi beams bursting into the hospital wing. Monokid briefly looked up from his paperwork to point out a bed behind a curtain and returned to his work. How serious this bear got when it came to running the hospital wing was kinda creepy but he pushed that aside for now.

Kokichi skips up the bed in question, takes a moment to take a deep breath, and pushes the curtain aside. Behind the curtains he finds his beloved crush sitting up in the bed, is head nodding as if he’s about to doze off. Somehow. . . seeing Shuuichi this defenseless made his heart throb.

Instead of shouting and making a scene like he originally intended, he carefully -- softly, gently -- he places a hand on Shuuichi’s shoulder to give him a shake.

“Saihara-chan,” He coos gently. Glancing to the side, he spots a nearby stool and brings it back to Shuuichi’s bedside.

“Huh. . .? Ouma-kun. . .?” The ex-detective questions in a mumble. Seated, Kokichi smiles back, his cheeks dusted with pink as he shows the tray to the other. “I made you some food.”

“. . . That’s a lie.” Shuuichi yawns, wiping tears from his eyes. Kokichi pouts in return which causes Shuuichi to crack a small smile, his hands carefully folded on top of eachother in his lap. “I’m sorry but, you’re not very good at lying at the moment. . .” He trails off glancing to the side for a few moments before his eyes flickered back to Kokichi. “You’re better than you were at the beginning of the talent exchange. . . That’s. . . that’s honestly a relief.” Saihara smiles right at him and Kokichi is pretty sure his heart just exploded out of his chest.

This sight. . .  It _has_ to be one of the world’s seven wonders. . .

Kokichi scoots the stool a little closer to Shuuichi’s bedside before setting the tray down in his lap, he removes the top from the donabe. The bedridden young man watches in confusion as Kokichi takes a spoonful of the food, gently blows on it before bringing it closer to his lips. Shuuichi’s face explodes with a bright red color.

“O-Ouma-kun. . .! Wait. . .! Th-This is . . . !” Shuuichi sputters. Kokichi pouts.

“OUMA-KUN!” And the moment is ruined. The two look to the door of the hospital wing to see a rather exhausted looking Kiibo. Given his lifestyle, Kokichi was incredibly talented at running fast. . . but it seems he was not fast enough to shake Kiibo off his tail to buy enough alone time with his beloved.

Kiibo’s face is a deep red hue and it almost looks like steam is escaping him because he’s blushing so much. On the other hand, Shuuichi is babbling like a fool, trying to explain this isn’t what it looks like. It gives Kokichi the perfect opportunity, to shove the spoon into Shuuichi’s mouth. And so, he does just that while looking Kiibo dead in the eye with a smile on his face.

“D-DON’T JUST SHOVE THAT IN HIS FACE LIKE THAT!!” Kiibo shouts, his face now flushed a darker shade of red.

“Stop shouting!” Monokid demands, suddenly pointing his guitar between both Kokichi and Kiibo. “If ya two keep acting up I’ll have to kick ya both out!” Again, Kokichi pouts. Kiibo quietly complains that he made the okayu and because of that he should have been the one to deliver it to Shuuichi but Kokichi ignores his protests and continues to feed his beloved.

“So, Kiibo-kun, you make this?” Shuuichi asks between a bite. Kiibo perks up a bit, his face flushed red as he rapidly nodded his head.

“Y-Yes! Kazehaya-san allowed me to help her! I prepared all the garnishes and cooked the salmon myself!” The robot-turn-human proudly places his hands on his hips and beams with pride.

“I see. . . It is different from her usual cooking. . .” Kiibo falters for a moment, looking a bit worried.

“O-Oh. . . Is that a bad thing?” Shuuichi breaks out into a soft smile, glancing over at the tray of food.

“No. She’s mentioned she’s never home often enough so she usually prepares food when she’s with her family. All of the food prepared by her is overflowing with the love she feels for those close to her. . . but, it’s different than usual because it has your charm to it Kiibo. It’s a bit clumsy, but, _your love_ is definitely in the food you prepared. It’s a wonderful, warm feeling. . .Thank you Kiibo-kun.” Kiibo makes the tiniest whine, hiding his face in his hands as he blushes.

On the other hand, Kokichi huffs, shoving another spoonful into Shuuichi’s mouth in order to steal his attention away from Kiibo. Kiibo immediately begins to fret over the rough handling and lectures Kokichi about how rude and unsafe that is but the shorter of the two doesn’t seem to care at all.

Shuuichi. . . was uncertain how to feel. . . not long ago, he kissed the woman he has fallen for -- _she_ even asked him for the kiss in the first place! -- and now he’s been doted over by two . . . rather adorable guys. . . but, it does feel nice to be loved. . . even for this moment. . .

 

* * *

 

“You. . . You want something that can pick up the chemicals used in Sulfur Mustard in the air around us. . .?” Ikiko cautiously repeats. She awkwardly plays with her pinky finger as she glanced between Amami and myself. And I. . .

_I can't fucking look her in the eyes ._

I still don't understand why I’m doing this, but here I fucking am. I’m staring at the ceiling doing everything in my power to not look her in the goddamn eyes. I feel like a complete jackass.

“Mustard Gas, yeah.” I clarify.

“. . .The scientific name is Sulfur Mustard.” She mumbles.

“Okay, cool.” I loudly cough, which turns into a real one. I kneel over hacking, forcing Amami to take over the conversation. Why am I such a walking disaster?

“Yes, it seems Kazehaya-san found a bottle -- most likely a bottle of bleach -- that smells like both citrus and vinegar. It could be brushed off as an accident, but finding it around the same time Saihara-kun was kidnapped? It doesn't seem likely.”

“N-No, I agree. . . .It seems very unlikely to be a simple accident given the circumstances. . .” She confesses. “Um, I should be able to make something by tomorrow. . . I guess all I can really ask of you. . . is to prepare some magic in case the gas is released.”

“Magic?” I suddenly question, looking right at her. It was an incredible effort on my behalf. She nervously glances to the side.

 “Oh, um, can you not . . .  use magic to detect changes in the air. . .?” I let out an awkward sound, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Uh, in theory, I probably could but even if I did I wouldnt be able to tell what the change in the air _was_ so a detector would be way more helpful. . . The best I can do is have Yumeno-san help me with a series of wind spells.”

“. . .Wind spells?"

“Well, the idea would be to like place them on doors, so if there’s a change in the chemical make up in the air the spell activates, and begins to churn out the bad air and replaces it with clean air. But that wont tell us who did it. . . If we catch the person in the act with the detector, it would be beneficial for everyone. . .”

“I see. . . Also I guess this is a secret from everyone else?”

“That’s correct,” Amami nods. “We don't know if there’s some sort of Mustard Gas bomb or not, it might really been an accident while cleaning, and we may cause a panic instead.” Ikiko nods her head in agreement before flashing us a smile and saying she’d get to work right away. The two of us slide out of the lab and I immediately kneel over to clutch my chest.

“God I fucking hate her eyes. . .”

“Her eyes?”  

How to not make yourself look like an asshole.

Don't be me.

“God, it’s fucking stupid.” I groan, placing my hands on my face and dragging them down. “I just _see them_ and freeze up. I don't even know why. It’s not like any of my alarms are going off.” When I was young and gained magic, I also inherited this strange alarm that existed in my body. It sounded like a clapping and it would always get louder the closer something dangerous came to me.

. . .But there’s none of that with Ikiko. No matter what, I can't figure out why I’m like this. . .

“. . . They are a bit of unreal golden. . .”  They are. At first I thought they were yellow, like the Shadows’ eyes, but they aren't and that doesn't even make sense. I’m not scared of Shadows. Shadows aren’t bad by nature -- just the repressed feelings of humans -- and even then, Theodore’s eyes are the same hue. . . .I mostly end up associating the color with him and he’s no threat to me. . .

“Maybe it has something to do with a suppressed memory?” Amami offers.

I’m. . . pretty sure I don't have any suppressed memories. Missing memories, sure. The memories of my first mission and. . . Hibiki. . .  but I have no idea what she looked like as a human. Well, nothing beyond some vague pictures given to me by a spirit but her eyes were closed in all of those photos.

Still. . .

“I donno, maybe. . .” I feel a squeeze to my hand and glancing between our bodies I find Amami’s hand holding my own. Looking back to his face, he greets me with a smile.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out and if you explained it to her she would understand it too.” My face heats up and I quickly glance away. Amami chuckles one more, this time tugging me along by my hand. We quietly made our way across the campus and back over to the arbor covered in wisterias. Almost nothing has changed from between te time we rushed to Miu’s Talent Lab to talk to Ikiko in privacy, Himiko sitting on the stone bench under the arbor, kicking her legs about.

“Yo, Himiko.” I call out to her. She lets out a soft ‘nyah’ as she lifts her head before a disappointed look crosses her face. She pouts. “Hey, what’s wrong. . .?”

“I thought you were Tenko.”

“Tenko. . .” I repeat dumbly. Amami mentioned she’s been sitting there all day although. . . Has she been waiting all day to see Tenko. . .? “What. . . like all day?”

“Yeah. . .” She frowns, furrowing her brows. “Tenko said she’d help me with aikido since I got her talent. . .” That sounds like an obvious excuse to hang out with Himiko. . . but if that was the case. Where was she? Tenko would be all over this.

  * “ **Himiko’s Testimony** ”; Himiko has been spotted by a number of other students throughout the day sitting under the wisteria covered arbor. She’s apparently waiting for Tenko. . . but for an unknown reason, Tenko never showed up for their arranged meeting.



“I. . .I see. . .” That didn't quite sit with me. Shuuichi gets kidnapped and the following day Tenko misses an appointment with Himiko? That’s just downright suspicious.

“Odd,” Amami frowns, placing his hands on his hips. “I saw her earlier today. . . I wonder what’s keeping her busy. . . ?” Himiko uselessly shrugs.

“Well, I kinda need your help with something Himiko. Some magicy help.” Himiko’s eyes immediately brightened up and she jumps to her feet at the prospect of magic. “So keep this on the downlow. . . We may or may not have a Mustard Gas problem. . .” Himiko’s face scrunches up in disgust.

“Mustard is disgusting.”

“I’m glad you agree.”

“ _But_ we aren’t dealing with the condiments kind here.” Amami buts in. “We don’t know for what purposes but someone was messing with some deadly chemicals. Kazehaya-san has devised a plan but she requires your help.” I then proceeded to explain the plan as best as I could and thankfully, it was something Himiko could easily do. The only problem was, we could not create a large number of wind spells at once since they all required concentration and effort to keep the spells active.

At best, Himiko was able to keep multiple Wind Spells active on each student’s dorm door and the dorm building itself while I charge myself with the responsibility of casting spells around the school building. I started off with the basement -- AV Room and library as they were the most populated areas at the moment -- and returned to the dining hall on the first floor but. . .

. . .Shinguuji was sitting at a table. I caught him as he was finishing a serving of Oyakodon but for the entire time his hands were trembling as he handled the chopsticks.

“Did you burn your hands while cooking. . .?” I find myself asking. His eyes flicker up to me and he quietly laughs.

“It’s minor. Please, it’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

“Even if it’s minor, its still an injury. You should get it checked at the hospital wing.” He stares at me for a few moments before simply chuckling.

“You are far too kind Kazehaya-san, but I should take care of my dishes first. . .” I quickly swoop in and grab the bowl and chopsticks off the table. I point a finger at him with a huff.

“Doctor, now. You’ll only end up irritating the burn more if you try to do the dishes now.” Once more, Shinguuji chuckles.

“It seems The Council has blessed me with such a kind angel.” And with that said, he rises to his feet, nudges the door open with his boots and exits the room.

i

I am literally gonna die.

He got my talent.

Honestly this is awkward as hell and I can't even point out the reason why. . . I guess, I never thought our local anthropologist would get my ability to preach and all my knowledge about The Council. Well, I doubt a problem will spring from that. . .

Nevertheless, with him gone from the room I can begin work. Focusing magic to the tip of my index finger and draw a spiral in the air. The air around me shifts, swirling and gathering around my body before being funneled into the spiral I’ve drawn in the air. The spiral glows a pale pink as it splits into two smaller spirals, one floating over to the entrance and the other to the kitchen door. The spiral burned it pattern into the wood, occasionally thrumming with magic as it awaited to be activated.

 

* * *

 

Kokichi finds himself pouting far more than usual ever since Saihara-chan was allowed to leave the hospital wing. He was immediately swept off his feet and taken away by Kazehaya-chan. Of course she, his darling savior, would take his beloved with a smile on her face as she giggled with delight.

It didn't help that she was stupid pretty and had such a charming personality. It was stupid. . . but he definitely felt a pang of  jealousy when it came to her ability to let others in despite being in pain and suffering -- he had doubts the pain she felt was like his own, but still -- none of that could ever come easy for himself.

Kokichi Ouma’s life has been nothing but existing in a lonesome void and desperate attempts to push others away. Getting attached was forbidden, something he learned after parent’s fate, so he couldn't have attachments as Tamekichi would target them without a doubt.

So why did he get attached to that detective? Why does he yearn for the simplest forms of contact? Was he really that sad that he would cuddle up to that stupid astronaut?

The answer had to be yes. He was picking the lock to his door at the moment after all.

**CREAK. . .**

“Ugh, someone needs to oil these shitty doors. . .” He mutters under his breath as he pockets his lock picking tools. Kokichi carefully enters the room, quietly closing the door behind him to the best of his abilities but it creaks once more. He flinches, his head snapping in the direction of the lone body on the bed.

Momota-chan doesn't even notice. He simply groans before rolling onto his side and hugs the nearest pillow to his body, rubbing his stupid face against it. What a complete and utter idiot. An idiot that’s far too trusting and open. An idiot that would be killed in a matter of seconds in the cold and cruel reality.

[ **\- Memories from Ten Years Ago -** ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDVBbNKc-mw&list=PL4Z9Z568EbZb-Ol87PevvUKr1cL1yZOb4)

If Kokichi was Tamekichi. . . He could kill him right now. Wrap his fingers around his throat and let him suffocate. Tamekichi has done it enough times to him, with that stupid grin stretches across his face, and he know it’s that easy. He would have to forget to let go.

Choke. Choke. Choke. Stuffer. _Suffer. Suffer. WEAK. WEAK._ **_WEAK._ **

**_YOU’RE GOING TO DIE KOKICHI!_ **

**_EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER DONE WILL BE MEANINGLESS._ **

Wait. He really can't breath. He’s choking.

Kokichi’s nails dig into his neck, desperately pulling at the material of his scarf. When did it get so tight around his neck? Why is it so tight? Why? Why? Why?!

“What the hell. . .?” Distantly, Momota-chan’s voice slurs with sleepiness but Kokichi can't focus on it. Only the tightness in his chest, the feeling of being strangled and the lack of air he was getting. Why? Why was he like this? Why was this happening?

why why why why whyw _hywhyw_ **_HYWHYWHYWHY_ **

“Holy shit! Kokichi!” There’s the sound of fabric rustling, feet slapping against the hard ground and someone is touching him. A choked sound escapes Kokichi. Something like a sob or perhaps a scream. But, stubbornly, the touch soon engulfs his body, cradling him against something firm. His hands desperately grab at something to anchor him to reality. “H-Hey, things are fine. I’m here! Kaito Momota, the Luminary of the Stars!”

Ah. That explained things.

He was clinging to that idiot. Despite being aware of this in some section of his mind, Kokichi doesn't let go. He desperately craves that feeling of contact and if he can get this, it’s fine. A hand carefully runs over the top of his head, playing with his long wavy curls. He’s not sure how long he sat there, listening to Momota-chan assure him he’s fine but when he finally regains control of his body, he jumps to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at the other.

“Momota-chan! You have to share your bed with me to pay for your act of treason!” The room is still dark and he’s sure his voice quivered a bit but he’s rather certain the other has a dumb look on the other’s face.

“tREASON?!” Momota-chan’s voice booms with utter confusion. Kokichi does his best not to giggle and instead, continues to point at the other.

“Making me have a panic attack is treason.”

Wait.

_Fuck._

**_Why the HELL did he say that outloud?_ **

“A panic attac-”

“TREASON.” Kokichi repeats louder than before, cutting off any chance for Momota-chan to question or worry about him. “And so, your punishment will be me, in your bed.”

“What do you mean you had a panic attack?” He’s kinda surprised that the other isn’t screaming about how he basically invited himself into his bed. Small victories he supposes. Kokichi then presses his finger to Momota-chan’s lips and shuses him.

“I didn't say panic attack.” Squinting his eyes, Kaito stands up to tower over the other boy.

[ **\- Tender Feeling -** ](https://youtu.be/FBmkeSmyp5I)

“You’re lucky I can't see, otherwise I’d call you a goddamn liar.” Kokichi hums in response and makes his way across the dark room to simply faceplant on the bed. He immediately curls up on the sheets, pulling his legs to his chest to make himself as small as he could be, and yet. . . he feels a fluttering in his chest.

The smell of Momota-chan around him. . . and the bed was still warm. . . And the memory of Momota-chan hugging him tight last night. . . or how he called him cute when he thought he was asleep. . .

Maybe this was a bad idea. . . This fluttering. . . it wasn't right. . .

 “I changed my mind!” He exclaims, trying to use his usual teasing voice but it fails. The tremble is so obvious. He jumps up right, ready to leap off the bed and out of the room. However, Momota-chan grabs him around his waist before he can flee.

“No way, you bust into my room,” With a huff, Momota-chan carries him back to the bed and drops him onto it. “Claim I’m the one at fault for giving you a panic attack,”

“I didn't have a panic attack.” He insists but he is ignored as Momota-chan grabs the sheets and tosses it over both of their bodies.

“And then you claim my punishment for that is that I have to share my bed with you.” Kokichi lets out a tiny squeak as Momota-chan’s strong arms wrap around his waist and pull him close to his body. “So, you made your bed, now lie in it Ouma.” And god, Kokichi is thankful that it’s too dark to see his flushed face. This. . . This isn't how he pictured things would go.

Momota-chan was supposed to let him go. He was supposed to let him flee like coward, like he usually did when he backpettled, not trap him in his stupid arms and hold him close. This was so stupid. . . A bad idea. The worst idea. . . but he. . . but he felt warm and safe. . .

Slowly, carefully, Kokichi rolls onto his side in order to face Momota-chan. His lavender eyes are drooping just a bit and his hand slowly reaches out for Kokichi’s neck. The smaller of the two flinches at first, anticipating the worse but Momota-chan gently rubs his fingers against the other’s skin. His fingers trail up the back of his neck and plays with the long strands of wavy hair. Kokichi’s face flushes as something like a purr escapes him. Momota-chan quietly chuckles.

“Yer. . . really cute after all. . .” The words were slurred. . . but they were certainly genuine. Kokichi’s heart explodes with an unfamiliar feeling. A feeling he wishes he could hold on forever.

 

* * *

 

[**\- Saturn { Instrumental } -**   ](https://youtu.be/R-m7zi66ddc)

Shuuichi sat in my lap, my arms wrapped around him and hands resting above the curve of his butt. His hands rested on my shoulders and the flustered expressions I saw on his face between each soft and gentle kiss was the most adorable thing.

Holding him in my arms . . . was the greatest feeling. . . I want. . . to show him how much I care for him. . .

And thus, our kisses soon escalated into something much heavier. Fingers unbuttoned the white dress shirt he was wearing and my lips met the pale skin of his neck. A quiet sound of desperation escaped him and it only fueled me on. Gently, I pressed more and more kisses to his skin, determined to draw more sounds out of him.

His fingers tremble, clutching my pajama top as a shudder ran through his body. His face flushed red, tears developing in the corners of his eyes that were squeeze shut and he was biting his lips to silence himself.

That flustered look . . . I. . . I wanna see more of it . . . !

My lips settle right above the pulse on his neck, gently biting and sucking the skin until it was red. Such quiet helpless sounds escape his lips, causing a fire to ignite in my stomach. Carefully, I lean forward in order to push his body down into the comforter. He just. . . he looked so wonderful sprawled out on the sheets, looking up at me with that embarrassed expression. Leaning down, I press a kiss to his lips while a hand roamed across his body.

“W-Wait. . . M-Melody-san. . .!” I pause, slowly pulling back to gaze on his face once more. He quickly brought his forearms up to cover his flushed face. “ . . . What. . . What are we?”

Immediately, the mood was murdered and I realize what the actual fuck I was doing. This is too fast. I don't even know if was _touched_ at the Love Hotel or not. _Jesus Christ._

“. . . I, uh, was under the assumption we were . . . you know, dating?” I manage to sputter out. “C-Cause, I asked if I could kiss you and . . . you kissed me?” Shuuichi lifts his forearms to give me a shy look.

“You. . . You really . . .  want me. . .?”

“I wouldn't have asked to kiss you otherwise. . .” I mumble, shyly playing with my long hair. “I don't kiss random people. . . only those I really like or interested in . . .”

“I. . .I see. . .” He mumbles softly, covering his flushed face once more. He then rolls onto his side, trying to hide how flustered he was.

“I’m, uh, sorry. . .” I mumble, glancing away. Shuuichi blinks, sitting upright to show me his cute confused expression. “I didn’t intend for things to get this intense so suddenly. . .! I just, thought you looked really cute flustered, but I shoulda known better. . .” Playing with the nail on my pinky finger, I glanced back his way. “. . .It’s too soon and I don't want you to think I want you to put yourself out immediately or something. . .”

“I-It’s fine!” Shuuichi suddenly exclaims, taking my hands into his own. I look to our hands and back to his flushed face. . . but there’s no shy expression. Only a flustered look and something serious but genuine. “I-I don't mind the idea of the two of us like th-that. . .”

“. . .I see. . .” I blush, trying to force the red away from my pale face. It’s too late. He totally saw it. He had to. “But, that’s not the only reason why I’m sorry. . . I didn’t think about it until Ikiko brought it up. . . it was stupid and rude of me not to think of that possibility. . .”

“That possibility. . .?”

“That your kidnapper may have . . . assaulted you in the hotel.” I didn't want to think about it. . . And maybe that’s why I never did until Ikiko reminded me of that very real possibility but I feel like a complete ass for just. . . getting so hot and heavy with him before I could ask him if he was alright.

“N-No. . .They didn't do that. . .” Shuuichi confesses in a soft voice. He carefully tilts my head up and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “. . .I’m fine. Thanks to you. . . I was so glad. . . that you came for me. . .” I manage to smile back, wrapping my arms around him in a hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Quietly, he giggles in return and kisses me once more.

_In that moment, we were happy. . ._

 

* * *

**July 1st; Day 12**

* * *

 

_But happiness does not last long in a killing game. . ._

**KNOCK KNOCK**

“KAZEHAYA-SAN!”

**DING DONG**

     “KAZEHAYA-SAN!

      PLEASE OPEN UP!”

**KNOCK KNOCK**

“KAZEHAYA-SAAAAN!”

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

Muttering under my breath, I jump out of bed, scrambling for my veil. Shuuichi sleepily sat up in my bed, looking confused by all the commotion but it soon enough registered something terrible had happened. He struggles to pull on his dress pants and fixes his belt to join me at the door.

Dressed in a robe, I open the door -- my cellphone in hand -- to find Gonta on the other side. He looks utterly distraught, big fat tears roll down his cheeks and he’s almost clutching at his neck in utter distress. My anxiety vanishes and only concern is visible on my face.

“Gonta? Gonta, what’s wrong?” I ask, placing a hand on his forearm. A shuddering sob shakes his entire body.

“Kazehaya-san . . .! It’s horrible. . .! Gonta. . . **Gonta found a body**. . .!”

“A-A body?!” Shuuichi gasps, coming into view. Gonta’s expression is clearly torn between panicking at the sight of the two of us in the same room and mourning for his classmate. “W-Where?! Who?” Shuuichi demands in a panic. For a moment, his voice cracks with agony but Gonta is unable to answer his questions as he breaks into a new wave of tears. I gently pat the forearm of the gentle giant to help him calm down.

“Gonta, I know this is hard, but please tell us. Who ever it is, we need to solve their case so we can let them rest in peace.” Through his tears, he nods his head and makes a request for us to follow him. Despite questioning who or where the body was, Shuuichi seems a bit hesitant to follow. It makes sense given his recent kidnapping, so I hold his hand and follow behind Gonta.

For the entire walk, Gonta is silent besides his sniffles and quiet apologizes for crying. I remind him each time it’s fine, as he’s human so it’s perfectly normal to cry when distressed, but I can't help but look around in confusion. There’s nothing but open field in this area. . . Why would a murder be committed out here. . .?

. . .The answer becomes a bit clearer as we approach our destination. There was a hole in the ground and a pile of dirt beside it. Gonta motions to the pile with shaky hands and another sob. I step just a bit closer to see a black trash bag sticking out of the hole in the ground.

[ **\- Body Discovery B -** ](https://youtu.be/dSUm3ns-Ukw)

Kneeling down, I hesitantly grabbed the black bag by the ties and pulled it open. . . And I’m immediately hit with a horrible stench. . . I close my eyes, wincing at the smell. . . but when I open my eyes to actually take in the sight before me. . .

I could stop myself. A scream -- muffled by my own vomit -- came forth. Inside the bag; stiff and pale as can be . . . was the head of **Tenko Chabashira,** **Super Highschool Level Aikido Master** , her expression twisted in pain as her dull, glossy green eyes stared into the abyss.

 


	27. {02} Unordinary Days {05}

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

**Ding dong dang dong. . . !**

_“A body has been discovered! Please exit the dorm to meet with the Monokubz._

_They’ll lead you all to location of the body discovery!”_

 

* * *

 

That announcement. . .  I could hear it ringing in my ears even after the system turned off. It was proof that this was. . . this was real. . . This was really happening. . .

. . .Tenko. . . Tenko really was gone. . .

In the distance, I could see the others approaching -- lead by Monodam with pole that had a yellow flag tied to his body -- and for a brief moment, my brain shut down as I saw everyone get even closer. They were all in their PJs. All of them.

Kaito in his usual -- his black boxers covered in red stars, white wife beater and his slippers -- with Ouma at his side -- who was wearing one of Kaito’s dress shirts and everyone could see his stupid flashy magenta-yellow boxers through the thin material of the shirt. At Ouma’s otherside was Amami -- wearing a big white t-shirt, baggy light green pants and socks -- who was not wearing any of his jewelry at all.

Miu looked uncomfortable in that goddamn lingerie as she hung off Kiibo’s arm. She tried to play it off but everyone could she was bullshitting it. Kiibo himself wore a very basic gray long sleeve and pants pajama set with white trimming

Ikiko wore a pair of light blue pajamas decorated with white hearts. The top was trimmed with scallop layered frills and she wore a matching pair of bloomers with them. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail on the side of her head and a pair of white slippers on her feet. Standing beside her was Maki, who looked rather furious.

There was Ryouma, wearing a cream colored shirt with a gray cartoon tabby, gray sweatpants and matching gray tabby slippers on his feet. Seeing him without his beanie was a bit surreal,  also it turns out he has two tufts of hair, one on each side of his head, that makes it look like he has cat ears.

Trailing behind him was Shinguuji, who for some goddamn reason, was still wearing his leather mask. His pajamas looked. . . pretty normal. I mean, I guess. It was black and modeled after a yukata. Basic and functional but still weird.

Angie was wearing a pair of soft yellow long sleeved pajamas, which were trimmed with white collars and buttons, and a giant white hibiscus on one of the pants legs.  Next to her was an anxious looking Himiko -- dressed in a big fluffy purple bear like robe from what I could see. . . and she even had the hood up.

. . .

That's when a grim realization dawned upon me. Himiko is going to lose her shit. Emotions are closely tied to magic . . . and I’m sure, Himiko felt _something_ for Tenko. . .

“Kazehaya-san. . . ?” Shuuichi softly calls out to me. I uneasily glance between him and to the approaching group.

“. . . Shit’s about to hit the fan. . .” I mumble.

“What? Why!?”

“Himiko.” I continue softly but urgently. “Magic is closely tied to emotions, even more so than usual in my case, but Himiko. . . Something in her may snap because of the circumstances!” Both he and Gonta look uncomfortable about this news and that discomfort increased once everyone arrived. Himiko uneasily looks around, wringing her fingers.  

“Tenko. . .  Where’s Tenko. . .?” She demands. Gonta immediately bursts into a fresh set of tears and Himiko looks horrified as she makes the connection. “N-No! That can't be true! Tenko can't be . . .! She can't!” Her expression is a mess, she wants to cry. I can feel it. But. . .it’s not coming out. It’s like the emotions she’s feeling are caged inside and at this rate they’re gonna explode.

[ **\- Crisis -** ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS1dr3_COBM&list=PLRBui0PW4JKRQd1xYlGI5EwYv7vTPLJMo)

And before it happens, it’s almost like I can see it. A ripple of magic travels across the ground as I hastily push Shuuichi out of the way, saving him from a column of stone and earth that burst from the ground. Immediately, everyone scatters about in a panic but because of the present environment there isn’t anywhere to hide.

But, despite this, Himiko doesn’t acknowledge that they’re in danger as she’s too consumed with her own grief. She wails in distress but no tears come forth. Just loud ugly sounds. A hand pulls at her hair and the nails of her other hand digs into her face with each distressing sound as a crimson red aura flows off her body.

          “Tenko was supposed to meet me! 

          Why didn't she?! 

          Why didn't Tenko visit me . . . !?” 

The answer is a little to obvious. She was dead. . . In fact, she had to be dead for the last day if her body was in the state I found it. I return my focus to the task at hand as the flicker of flames lick my cheek. It’s rather minor in the long run. The bigger problem is the fact the flames are spreading across the grass and people are screaming now.

I do my best to lock out the sounds of protest -- telling me to leave the battleground -- as a tornadoes of flames rise from the ground around the two of us. I doubt the use of fire fighting equipment could put these flames out as Himiko’s emotions go haywire. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my purse nor my usual supply for water based magic so I had to find a different way to deal with this fire.

“That can't be real!                              


That can't be Tenko!”                          


With an arm extended, I make a sweeping motion to pull the water from the surrounding area, leaving a ring of dead grass around me. It was a bit of a shame to do that but it’s a small sacrifice to stop this before this escalated any further.

With a flick of my wrist, I shoot a beam of water at Himiko. The blast sends her sprawling across the ground. I wince as I watch her dig her nails into the ground, tears finally began to break free and yet not fall.

Slowly, I curled my fingers close, calling the water I fired back to my side and with a swift motion across the horizon, the water flies to snuff out the fire that was spreading across the grass. Thankfully, the flames are quickly smothered as the anger and fury behind Himiko’s magic has dissipated to grief and sadness.

“This can't be . . .” 

[ **\- Blue Bird Lamentation Rearranged -** ](https://youtu.be/pQM_sHhRtdU)

“I. . .I get it Himiko.” I begin softly, kneeling down by the smaller girl. A sad whimper escapes her as she rubs at her eyes. Still, no tears fall. Tenko wasn’t really lying when she said she locked her heart away. . . but I never imagined it would be like this. “You never got a chance to properly express how much. . . Tenko meant to you. . .” I wrap my arms around her, and give her a hug as tightly as I could manage. “She was a bit loud and excitable. . . but, even you could tell she really did care for you. . . even if it was hard for you to express how you felt for her. . . She truly did care for you, so you need to hold your head up high.”

“Then it’s important you complete her last wish, right?” Came Kaito’s voice. I lift my head in surprise. With the chaos and fire dissipated, the others began to gather around the two of us -- expressions mixed between confusion, concern and most importantly, empathy. The pain of losing someone was, unfortunately, something we were all familiar with one way or another.

“. . . Her last. .  .wish?” Himiko repeats, her voice trembling just a bit.

“She. . . She wanted you to open up your heart to others.” Shuuichi softly explains before motioning to the scorched grass. “She was worried. . . something like this would happen on a much larger scale.”

Rather abruptly, Ouma suddenly thrusts a long length of green fabric with a familiar white floral pattern into Himiko’s face. It takes the redhead a moment to realize it’s the very same ribbon that would be in Tenko’s hair. Using what magic I’ve trained him in, he combined the two lengths of green ribbon into one, something long enough that Himiko could wear on her body.

“Open up your heart to others.” Ouma pushes forward with a serious look on his face. “Onee-chan has made it very clear that is an important aspect to us magic users. Losing control of our emotions is bad for us. . . but denying them, denying our very selves, is just as bad. If your heart is crying out for Chabashira-chan, then cry for her. Let her know what you’re feeling.”

And to our surprise, Ouma’s words and actions cause the walls around Himiko’s heart to finally crumble. Her shaking hands grab the fabric -- fabric that was soft in her fingers, like when Tenko smiled at her -- and she brings it to her face, murmuring Tenko’s name again and again. And finally, tears roll down her cheeks with saddened gut wrenching sobs.

For such a positive moment, it didn’t take long for local asshole bear to _fucking_ ruin it.

[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/CqX3rcMJNgY)

“Aaaalright! A body!” Monokuma beams. “Finally! I was wondering when someone would drop dead!”

“Shut up!” Himiko demands, jumping up to her feet. The fabric that once made up Tenko’s pinwheel like ribbon was clenched tightly in her hand and her eyes watered once more with both anger and grief. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that!”

“Geez, you’re really testy about this! It’s almost like you cared for her!” For a moment, Himiko falters and Monokuma’s grin grew wider.

“I-I did! I do!”

“That’s enough.” I cut in. “Just give us the file and tell us our time limit.”

“Bah, you’re no fun anymore. . .”

“You really overstayed your welcome.” I reply in a mute tone.

“Whatever, you guys only have thirty minutes and here’s your stupid **Monokuma File** .” With a **BEEP** , the file was uploaded to our MonoPads and a number of us began to review it.

  * “ **Monokuma File 3** ”;  Victim: Tenko Chabashira. Time of Death is UNKNOWN. The location of body discovery is UNKNOWN; The head was found in south-west of the dorms. Death was caused by brain hemorrhaging. The body was then cut into pieces.



“What do you mean by we only have a half hour?” Maki demands. “That’s less time than before.”

“Not my fault you guys spent so much time dealing with her,” With a snide grin, he motions to Himiko. The small girl fumbles with the length of ribbon in her hands. “Besides, you already have MOST of the clues. The only problem that remains is can you guys trust each other and assemble the case?” Monokuma chuckles before turning to his cubs. “Alright my beautiful children! We have a very important job to do!”

“Like what?” Monosuke questions with a heavy sigh.

“A treasure hunt!”

“A treasure hunt?” Monophanie repeats, a hint of joy in her voice.

“Well, yeah, if there’s only a head in that bag, the other body parts are probably scattered across the campus!” Monophanie immediately barfs. Monodam just stared at his father, most likely with disgust. Monokid uselessly shrugs. Monosuke had nothing to say but he looked incredibly pissed off. . . but, together, the four cubs depart shouting their usual:

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

[ **\- Despair Searching -** ](https://youtu.be/HF-UP6TKasw)

“No time of death?” Kaito loudly ponders. At the moment, he’s looking over Shuuichi’s shoulder to look at the file on his MonoPad.

“Ah. . . Monokuma most likely did this on purpose. . .” Shuuichi sighs. “Monokuma isn't going to give us information that would directly link to the murder. . .”

“Alright! So, knowing the time of Chabashira-san’s death is the key to the case!” Kaito beams.

“W-Well, so would evidence, but I. . .” Shuuichi glances to the side, a troubled look on his face. “I don't think I’d be much help. . .”

“Don't be stupid!” Kaito shouts. The volume used took a number of us by surprise, causing people to jump. “Even like this, you’re still my sidekick and we’ll work together to figure this out! So, who found the body first?”

“Ah, that would be Gokuhara-kun. He rushed to Kazehaya-san’s room and knocked on the door, asking for her.” Kaito leans down closer to Shuuichi in order to whisper in his ear.

“Hey, why are you still referring to her by ‘san’ after spending the night with her?”

“W-What?!” Shuuichi gasps back, his face flushed red. “Y-You make it sound like we did . . . we did _indecent_ things!”

“You sayin’ you two didn't?” There was a look of _genuine_ surprise on Kaito’s face and Shuuichi wanted to die. How could Kaito be so casual with a guy that spent the night with his girlfriend, in her room for Christ sake? “Dang. I thought she’d go for the kill. . .”

“How can you say these things?!” Shuuichi hisses.

“I already said the two of you looked nice together.” Kaito shrugs, pink lightly dusting his cheeks. Shuuichi’s face grows red as he recalls that, yes, Kaito did indeed say that at one point. He can't understand those two. How can they just be so. . .! So like _that_ . . . !

With a huff, he hurries over to Gonta but his expression quickly falls as he realizes that the gentle giant was still a sobbing mess -- incredibly sad and disappointed that this happened -- leading him to awkwardly pat his arms. Realizing someone is attempting to talk to him, Gonta removes his glasses and wipes his tears away.

“Saihara-kun, Gonta apologizes. . . a gentleman should not cry. . .” He explains as he pushes his glasses in place.

“Truthfully, I don't believe in that. . .” Shuuichi admits. “We’re all human and it's perfectly natural to cry in response to distressing things. . .”

“. . .Saihara-kun is too kind. . .” Gonta gives an awkward smile to the two young men as he rubs the back of his head. “. . .Ah, do you need to speak to Gonta?”

“Well, you were the first to find the body. I would like to hear what you were doing at the time of the discovery.”

“Oh, that is right. . .” Gonta trails off for a moment. “Gonta wakes up before the morning announcement, everyday. . .”

“Everyday?” Kaito repeats with confusion.

“Yes! Gonta looks for bugs everyday!” A rather serious look appears on the young man’s face as he crosses his arms. “Just like Momota-kun said, we can fall in love with our talents again! So Gonta has been looking for bugs! Gonta is certain there are bugs around here!”

That’s debatable.

“I-I see. . . Then, how did you. . . find the body if you were looking for bugs?”

“Gonta was hit my a sudden light!” Gonta’s voice booms as he dramatically clenches his fists. “And then, when Gonta tried to figure out where the light came from, he saw the mound!”

“So, you dug it up and figuring out what it was, you ran to get Kiriri and Shuuichi. . .” Kaito mumbles. As the reality of the situation sinks once more, Gonta looks to the ground with a saddened expression.

“Yes. . . Gonta cannot understand. . . How could anyone do this to Chabashira-san?”

“I don’t know. . . but we’ll find them and make them pay.” Despite his previous insecurities there was nothing but determination behind Shuuichi’s words. Gonta gives him a tearful smile as he wipes his tears away.

  * “ **Gonta’s Testimony** ”; Gonta woke early, as usual, and was scouring campus for bugs when he was blind sighted by a light. Whatever the source of the light was, it led him to a mount of dirt. Gonta then proceeded to dig up the mound to find Tenko’s severed head inside a black gallon trash bag.



 

* * *

 

“This is honestly the shittiest birthday gift I’ve ever received.” Ryouma grimmly comments. A number of thoughts fly through my head and my face reflects this by shuffling through a variety of emotions.

“Happy birthday?” I awkwardly offer, lowering what I was examining.

“Nevermind that,” He grumbles, motioning to the object between my fingers. “What’s in your hand?”

Although it was a bit dirty it was clearly Tenko’s choker on a closer examination. If I had to guess it fell out of the bag while her head was dumped into the hole and wasn’t properly buried as a result.

“Tenko’s choker. . .” I sigh. “It wasn’t in the bag although.” Ryouma is quiet for several moments as he thinks something over in his head.

“The head was probably buried first then.” Seeing my confused look he proceeds to elaborate. “It’s only an assumption on my part, but if the head was buried around sometime closer to dawn our killer would have noticed they dropped the choker.”

“So the choker was missed because it was too dark out to notice it. . .” But . . . wouldn’t that also mean they dug these holes without any lighting. . .?

“Yeah.”

“. . . What?”

“I saw the look on your face.” He replies coolly. “The plots of land were pre-chosen and possibly prepared beforehand. Regardless, one thing is certain, and it’s that this murder was premeditated.” His face shifts into a grim expression, a dark shadow settling over his eyes. “At least with **Shuuichi in mind**.”

. . .I know. Attacking Amami, kidnapping Shuuichi and then locking him away in a suite that is almost impossible to get into. . . it all points to the fact that someone meticulously planned this. Shuuichi was supposed to be the victim. . . but Tenko. . .Tenko was instead. . .

As grim as it sounds, I can't help but ponder why. Why was Tenko killed instead of Shuuichi if he was kidnapped first?

“C’mon,” Ryouma sighs, turning his back on me. I blink in confusion and he sighs once more. “The Love Hotel. The cubs are gone so it’s not like they can stop us from reviewing the crime scene.”

“The crime sc. . . so the murder really happened there. . . ?”

“Yeah.” He mumbles, reaching up in an attempt to pull his beanie down. . . only to recall he’s not wearing it. He sighs heavily once more. “The evidence makes it pretty clear. You were busy with Saihara at the time so I’m not surprised you didn't really notice.”

Well. . . he’s not wrong. . . .

I open my mouth to question how does he know these things or come up with these explanations when a sudden realization hits me. In retrospect, it should have been obvious. The sharp look in his eyes as he reviewed information or took in his environment around him. He even stopped to think far more often and for longer periods of time.

“Oh. . . You have Shuuichi’s talent, don't you?” He scoffs, looking far off in the distance.

“Ironic isn't it? A crook like me getting the skillset of a detective. . .” With another sigh, he turns away and begins the walk to the Love Hotel in the distance. After stowing Tenko’s choker into the pocket of my robe I follow after him, calling for him to wait up.

  * “ **Tenko’s Choker** ”; Tenko’s choker, it was found near the location of her. . . severed head. It’s currently theorized that the head was buried first in the darkness, thus the reason why it was missed by the killer and not buried with the head. It seems illogical that such obvious evidence would be left in the open unless it was missed.



 

* * *

 

As expected, Monosuke wasn’t around to chase us away from entering the Love Hotel. . . . in retrospect, it’s not like he _really_ could stop us since it wasn't even 7AM -- closing time -- yet. It also helped that he was so pissed off during our visit that he forgot to collect the key from me on my way out with Shuuichi and the door to Suite 02 was still functioning as a dutch door.

All in all, it was pretty easy to reenter Suite 02.

“Let’s ignore the right hand side of the room,” Ryouma begins, pointing in that direction. Probably so I could tell whos right he was talking about. And that was a fair thing to say, I’m not in the mood to stare at BDSM, sex toys and shit.

He instead motions to the left side of the room. . . which is the most open bathroom I have ever had the misfortune is witnessing. Like the right side of the room, it's separated from the suite by a long transparent cream curtain. It looks very much like a basic bathroom with the black-and-white checkered floor and it’s littered with the usual items you would see; a washbowl, few stools, a small bucket and showerheads . . . but there was a clawfoot bathtub. . . and a slide leading to it?

Honestly, I have no idea what the hell is going on here with this design. . .

But Ryouma approaches the tub, kicking one of the stools close enough so he could look over the edge and into the tub. He stares at whatever is still inside it before a smirk stretches across his face.

“They haven't returned. Good.” He chuckles, his fingers fidgeting. He was probably looking for his usual cigarette substitutes.

“How can you tell that. . . ?” I ask as I approach the tub. . . . For some reason, there were strips of bandages laying on top of the objects in the tub. I look back to him with an utterly baffled expression.

“I took a page out of Saihara’s books.” He chuckles. “Saihara said he left some dust in the card reader while investigating the secret door in the library -- before Akamatsu’s murder, that is -- in order to check if anyone used that secret door or not. Thankfully our perp left this lovely roll of bandages here that I could use and I can tell that they haven't been disturbed as I laid them out in a rather particular way.”

  * “ **Bandages** ”; Ryouma used these bandages to make sure the items at crime scene was not disturbed. However, why was such a large roll at the scene in the first place?



“Nice job!” I grin, giving him a thumbs up. He blushes a bit before scoffing, telling me to inspect what's in the tub as we have roughly fifteen minutes before the trial is supposed to begin. I nod my head, using my magic to quickly gather up the bandages and toss them aside. Now I finally have a clear view of what’s inside the tub. . . 

There seemed to be some cleaning supplies  -- a still damp mop that was tinted red and a roll of black gallon bags -- and the faint smell of bleach. It was much fainter than the smell in the elevator, most likely because not as much it’s not a confined space and time has passed. Removing these objects from the tub, I can see a ring of pink ring around the inside surface of the white porcelain.

 **Blood**. . .

I curl my finger on my chin thoughtfully. I certainly found a bottle of bleach in the bin behind the school and Monosuke said none of the hotel’s cleaning supplies were taken. . . If that’s the case. . . maybe no one was making a Mustard Gas bomb at all. Maybe that was our killer disposing of evidence.

Still, there were a few more items to check before I could leave to check one final place. . .

Returning my attention to the tub, I find. . . a knife. Grimacing, I hold it up to the light and look it over, flipping the blade back and forth. I’ve seen enough knives -- my father had a collection for cooking and he loved many of them were special orders or specific types -- and this was undoubtedly a butcher’s knife. . . It’s been cleaned. It smells like citrus and vinegar like **that bottle**. . .but I can still smell it.

The scent of **blood**.

**COMBINE EVIDENCE!**

  * “ **Knife Block** ”; A knife block in the kitchen. The Butcher Knife is missing from its usual place, the knife found at the scene of the crime fits here. The Knife was last seen during dinner preparations on **June 29th**. 
  * “ **Bloody Butcher Knife** ”; A bloody knife found in the Love Suite Bathroom. It reeks of blood.



>>

  * “ **Bloody Butcher Knife** ”; The Butcher Knife was noted to be missing from its usual place in the Knife Block on **June 30th** and the Knife was last seen during dinner preparations on **June 29th**. Ultimately, the knife was recovered at the scene of the crime, the **Love Suite Bathroom**.



Now, all that remained in the tub was one black gallon bag. . . I felt a bit apprehensive at this point. What could be in it? We have so many clues to **how** the crime was carried out but not by **who**. Taking a deep breath, I opened the bag to find something very familiar. . .

What stands out the most was the blue windbreaker. I could recognize it. I won it from the gatcha in the school store and gave Tenko a few days back. . . These once vibrant clothes seemed so dull. They were slightly damp with her blood and judging by the size of the stain, she lost a decent amount. Her clothes must have been stuffed in this bag to be burnt later or something. . .

  * “ **Workout Clothes** ”; It looks just like the windbreaker and sweatpants Yuuki gave Tenko a few days back but its drenched in blood. Found in a trash bag in the **Love Suite Bathroom** along with her undergarments. 



That’s all there is. . . but still. . .There’s no clear answer to **who**. The son of a bitch behind this really is giving us a run for our money. . . There’s one last place to go. . . One last thing I have to confirm. . .

 

* * *

 

**COMBINE EVIDENCE!**

  * " **Love Suite 02** "; The room Shuuichi was found in. These suits are located on the top floor of the Love Hotel and can only be accessed with a **Key of Love** \-- an incredibly expensive prize from the Casino that's worth 10k Coins.
  * " **Love Suite Bathroom** ”; The scene of the crime. The sides of the tub are a pinkish hue and smells heavily of bleach but there’s no bottle around.



>>

  * **Love Suite 02** "; The Suite itself was the location Shuuichi was recovered from. These suits located on the top floor of the hotel and can only be accessed with a **Key of Love** \-- an incredibly expensive prize from the Casino worth 10K coins. The **Love Suite Bathroom** , however, is the scene of the crime. The sides of the tub are a pinkish hue and smells heavily of bleach but there’s no bottle around.



 

* * *

 

_Oh! About time that timer ran out!_

_An investigation isn't much fun. . .it's just the necessary procedure before the real deal!_

_Like how the internet is just the necessary stage for watching nothing but erotic videos!_

_. . ._

_Well, some people do say that part is more fun, but that aside. . ._

_It's time for  the school trial you've all been waiting for--!_

_Please gather at the '_ **_Altar of Judgement_ ** _' in the courtyard!_

_Upupu, well then, I'll see you later~!_

 

* * *

 

We fucking ran out of time. Of course we couldn't check what I needed to see. It takes roughly ten minutes to get to the casino from the dorm and with all the time spent inspecting the evidence in the suite, there was hardly enough time to run back to the school building.

I fucking wanted to scream. . . but we have no time for that. Hopefully the other have found some sort of evidence that can help point out who did the goddamn thing.

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

“Oi, Kiriri, is everything okay?” Kaito asks as Ryouma and myself arrive at the Altar. My shitty mood must have been obvious for him to ask that.

“. . .I didn't get to fuckin check the stock in Toujou-san’s lab.” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips with irritation. “I’m pretty sure it was supplies from her talent lab found at the scene. . . but I can't confirm it or my suspicions. . .”

“Oh, I might be able to help you with that.” Shuuichi offers and to my surprise, he passes me his MonoPad I look between him and the device.

I blink. There’s a look of determination in his eyes. He’s here without his talent. . . but he doesn’t look afraid, perhaps a bit concerned. It’s better than the timid and sad look I saw before when we went to the last trial. I wonder what happened to spur this. . .

I quickly look back to the MonoPad, quickly pulling up the list of items he’s placed under the Evidence option.  A grin manages to cross my face as I find several items under the listing. It seems, Shuuichi was hard at work collecting information, even without his talent.

The first one I find is a bullet on **Gonta’s Testimony** , followed by information on the **Cleaning Supplies Closet** . .  . A testimony from both  **Maki** and **Kaito** relating to the events of Shuuichi’s kidnapping. . .And a bullet that detailed how the **Trip Wire Trap** in the woods worked. . .

“Oh, are we exchanging information?” Amami questions, approaching us by the entrance. At his side was Ouma. . . who suddenly had the Yacchi in his arms and was wearing his usual white pants and his slip ons. When the hell did he get the time to grab that shit?

“Are you sure it's a good idea to casually exchange information like this?” Ryouma questions. Amami laughs, carelessly shrugging as usual.

“To be completely honest, the only person I trust -- no questions asked -- is Kazehaya-san. I know with absolute certainty she has no intention to screw anyone over, so giving her information to help solve the case is beneficial for all of us.” And with that said, he passes me his MonoPad.

Listed in the Evidence menu is **Amami’s Testimony** , information about the  **Helper Yacchi** , a blurb about the  **Strange Dust** that was on his face after he was assaulted and a note about the **Melody Pocket Knife**. I can only assume this all cross-collected information from Ouma. . . Just as I’m about to close the menu, I notice there’s one more piece of evidence.

  * “ **Dorm Ventilation System** ”; The vent grate outside the dorm building was tampered with -- the scratches on the metal indicate that it was improperly screwed on/off. This vent leads inside the dorm building and circulates around it, leading to a vent in each dorm room. The vent grate for Tenko’s room was found in her dorm room.



Ah. So that’s how Ouma got the Yacchi and some pants and shoes. . . He crawled through the vents. . . Well, I guess this also proves its possible to do that in the first place. Still, why was the vent to Tenko’s room tampered with? What would be the point in that?

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

“Is this everyone. . . ?” Kiibo questions, looking around at who’s gathered at the altar. I quickly glance over the numbers and nod my head.

“Yeah, this is everyone.”

“I-I see. . .is everyone ready?”

“Even if we say 'not yet' . . . there's no point, is there?” Gonta questions, his fists clenched and his jaw locked. He looked fierce. . .but determined. Even if he was crying not long ago, he too was determined to find the truth.

“You catch on quickly.” Shinguuji chuckles. “Monokuma has trained you well.”

“By the way, It's gonna be okay, right you pieces of trash?” Miu questions, her voice trembling with fear and anxiety. “You bastards are gonna figure out who did it, right?!”

“Yeah,” I nod. “We’ll figure it out together.”

“Alright, then let’s start this school trial!” Kaito grins, pounding his fists together.

**RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE**

I had hardly noticed but the same sculpted statue was back in its previous pose -- goblet and all -- before crushing the goblet once more. Just like before, it points to the sea of teenagers before it before crossing its arms across its chest. The floor under it opens up for for it to sink below surface of water that violently sloshes around. Once the statue was submerged, the bottom of the fountain sealed up once more, the waterfall behind the fountain parts to reveal gray gates to a freight elevator and a land bridge extends to end of the pool so we could all cross.

Our ride had arrived. . .

Quietly, one by one, people begin to make their way across the bridge to reach the freight. Just as I’m about to make my way over  the Devilman suddenly stirs and something is ejected from my bag. I’m almost at a loss to what it could possibly be until I see the colorful patterns -- composed of red, yellow, blue, green and pink.

It was one of the two motive videos.

In a panic, I lunge forward and grab the iPad like object. .. . but my fingers brush against the screen and the video begins to play.

. . .

That. . . That most certainly was not a name I was expecting to hear.

“Geez! Onee-chaaaaan! What are you doing?” Ouma shouts. I look between him and the still playing video on the Monokubz Pad. There’s not enough time to get all the answers I need from this. . .but. . . maybe, just maybe, this was the big breakthrough I needed for this case.

“R-right! I’m coming!” I shout, shoving the video player back into my purse and hurrying down the path to join the others. Once I stepped on board the elevator the gates move automatically slid into place in order to safely lock us inside. Kaito gives me a concerned look for a moment but I simply smile and find an empty space in the elevator besides Shuuichi.

Silently, we all endured the slight shake and sway that rocked our bodies as we descended deeper and deeper into the depths of the earth, the only sounds we could hear was our nervous breathing. This feeling reminded me of moments when I participated in the Nevegelo Civil War. It felt as if we were waiting to be deployed to a battlefield. . .

Sadly, that idea was not far off from the truth, once we arrived at our destination. . . We would be fighting to survive once more.

[   **\- Genesis (Uplifting Verse) -** ](https://youtu.be/DCziNVipvFI)

Standing beside Shuuichi, I took his hand into my own and gave him a reassuring squeeze. He glances my way, looking a bit confused but I smile back at him. Red rushes to his cheeks, causing him to shyly glance away.

“Kazehaya-san. . .” He begins in a soft voice. “Do you. . . believe in trust without a sound reason. . .?” I look his way, blinking with confusion. I couldn't imagine what brought this on or for what reason. . . but, to trust without reason. . . I can and I have.

. . . A previous job was to assassinate a demon prince. . .I don't enjoy assassination jobs -- and my seniors know this, and honestly the assassin job title is more of a formality on paper at this point as they KNOW I’ll find a way around it somehow -- but we had know way of knowing was he an actual threat to Versailles or not. . .

But, the moment I saw him surrounded by flowers and gently smiling without a care in the world, I knew I had to protect him. I had to save him. And I wanted to love him forever. However, our relationship grew very strenuous when I confessed the reason why we originally met was because of a job assignment relating to him.

Even when he struck out in fear for his life, leaving a huge burn wound on my body as a result -- it was the moment I discovered that despite my immortal nature, if a wound was grievous enough it would not fade once it healed -- but I did not fear him because I believed in him despite all odds because I believed he was more that his demon bloodline.

. . . Because I believed he was Dante Velia.

“Yeah.” I find myself sheepishly muttering as I scratch my cheek. “I’ll admit, blindly trusting others won't always end well, and if it doesn’t I’ll pick up the pieces and begin again. . . Because, sometimes, you just gotta. Even if there’s no sound reason. . .”

“I see. . .” Shuuichi then lets out a soft laugh. “You and Momota-kun are alike. . .”

“Oh?”

“He pretty much said the same thing. . . ‘If I don't try, when will I ever try?’ And to be honest, to hear it from you as well, it assures me things will be okay. . . .So, thank you. . .” I smile and give his hand a reassuring squeeze once more. He smiles back, his eyes brimming with a little more confidences.

Looking away from him, I glance around to take in the state of the others and my gaze stops at Himiko. Her eyes were red and puffy, and there were signs of tear tracks on her face, but her expression was anything but sadness or despair. With Tenko’s green floral ribbon around her neck like a scarf, she was determined to figure out who robbed her of her friend.

Looking forward once more, I notice Kaito glancing over his shoulder to Shuuichi and myself. A grin splits across his face the moment our eyes meet and he gives us a thumbs up. My expression softens a bit and I smile back.  Glancing over my shoulder I spot Amami talking to Ouma behind Shuuichi. Amami notices my eyes on him and he smiles warmly, waving back at me. My face flushes and I fumble a bit before waving back at him.

. . .

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/q7L-AkUwyF8)

Not much more time passed before we arrived. . .

We return to this room once more and like before eighteen futuristic podiums await us, each labeled for their respective owner, on a magnetic blue floor. . . But because of current events, a total of four podiums are lacking people to stand in them.

Much like Kaede’s and Shirogane’s, Toujou’s and Tenko’s now feature a height appropriate photo stand that contained a photo of them. Much like the other deceased young women, their smiling faces crossed out in red -- Toujou’s with a rather elegant looking ‘X’ while Tenko’s was curved in a style that resembles her green ribbon.

“You guys came back!” Monokuma greets as we make our way to our respective podiums.  “Oh? Did you say this place is wonderful? That you had to see it no matter what? Oh, I bet! I did my best when bringing this place to life! It's just as nice as a national stadium!” the cubs looked like they wanted to protest but they said nothing in the end so Ouma takes up that job.

“You make it sound like someone is watching this.” He snidely comments as he climbs onto his podium beside me. I quietly snort as I crossed my arms.

“Whaaat? What are you talking about?” Monokuma questions, a paw at his mouth while he tilted his head. “Don't be stupid! If no one is here, they don't exist. This world only contains the fourteen of you! Now then, why don’t you try and show me how much you’re willing to bet those lives of yours!”

[ **\- New World Order V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/dp9u2iF3zPo)

That’s bullshit to pull the wool over our eyes. Someone _is_ watching this shit. The talk about cash cows and merchandise made it obvious. . . Just like with Yuuki and her friends. . . Someone is watching this and _enjoying_ this.

People that view the lives of others as a game and carelessly murder another piss me off. . . That’s why I can’t let the murder get away with this shit. This wasn’t an accident or someone pushed to carry out this crime. Someone organized a premeditated murder to kill Shuuichi, only to kill **Tenko Chabashira** , **Super Highschool Level Aikido Master** , instead.

Tenko was a handful, but I don't think she was a bad person by nature. She was determined to protect and help those in need and she was starting to see the errors of her ways by assuming all men were terrible. She was trying. She wanted to be better. She didn't deserve this . . .  No one does. . .

So, I’ll fight. I’ll fight tooth and nail to find the  **truth** hidden among the evidence we’ve gathered together and save everyone. I promised **her** I’d complete her wish to help everyone. I have zero intention to fail it now.


	28. {02} Trial {01}

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**ALMOST** **HELL** **HEAVEN**

**Trial**

 

* * *

 

**CLASS TRIAL**

**IS IN SESSION**

Monokuma bangs his gavel causing the lights our podiums to take on a familiar cyan blue hue as the lifted up off the ground.

“Now, lets review the basics of the Class Trial!” He beams with delight. “Your objective is to **find the blackened** through discussion, and the outcome will be decided by your votes! Pick the correct guilty party and only they’ll be punished. . . Pick the wrong culprit. . .” Monokuma’s devilish smile grew wider.

“And everyone BUT the blackened will be punished and they’ll be allowed to leave the Academy for Gifted Inmates!Also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so you better vote for _someone_!” A beat passes. “Now let’s get this crazy, awesome crazy-to-the-max trail oooon the road!” But the courtroom is silent. I suppose that makes sense given what we know about the case thus far, which was nothing..

“. . .Let’s begin with the basics.” Shuuichi suggests

[ **\- Me and My Class Trial -** ](https://youtu.be/Gs1ORsEG2Yw)

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

**BEGIN!**

“. . .Gonta found Chabashira-san far away from the dorms. . .” Gonta begins, his tone rather heavy and grim.

“South-west, right?” Ryouma presses. Gonta . . . looks troubled for a moment before nodding his head.

“Y-Yeah. . .”

“After finding the body, you found Kazehaya-san and Saihara-kun, right?” Amami questions.

“That’s right. . .”

“ **But there’s no way someone would kill her in such an open place**.” Kiibo mumbles.

**AGREEMENT!**

  * “ **Love Suite 02** ”



**CONSENT!**

“I agree with that!”

[ **\- Class Trial Dawn Edition, Volume 3 -** ](https://youtu.be/ogas6954gxk)

My shout silences all hushed murmurs throughout the courtroom. People’s expression were something between disgust and confusion as they took in the evidence I presented to them.

“Chabashira-chan was killed in **Love Suite 02** , a room on the third floor of Hotel Kumasutra. There’s more than enough evidence in the bathroom to prove _someone_ was killed there.” I explain.

“You mean. . . She was killed in the same room Shuuichi was in. . .?” Kaito questions, looking a bit blue in the face and Shuuichi looked just as horrified. Perhaps it was the shock of learning a murder took place right next to him and he had no idea this whole time.

“No, **that’s wrong**.” For a moment, my brain shuts down. I look across the courtroom to stare at Ryouma in utter confusion. How the hell is that wrong? We found the evidence together.

“What the fuck you talking about?”

“You’re on the right track, just think again.”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Anagram.NEW -** ](https://youtu.be/kKMDqJ6PbSc)

Think again. . .

Then. . . then I must have overlooked something. . . .

Something in the hotel. . .

Hotel. . .

Nothing was off in the hotel. . .

Nothing other than. . .

**E L E V A T O R**

 

* * *

 

**SOLUTION**

“I’ve figured it out!”

**GOT IT!**

  * “ **Bleached Elevator** ”



“The **Bleached Elevator**!” I exclaim with a grin on my face as I lift a finger in the air.

“The elevator in the hotel. . .?” Ikiko blinks. Everyone looks a bit surprised that the place of death was an elevator of all places but in retrospect, it’s obvious. The reason why the elevator was bleached was to clean up the blood. If Shuuichi wasn't the one bleeding, then obviously someone else had to be Tenko.

“Oh yeah,” Kaito nods. “Monosuke said it can't leave the hotel lobby if there’s **more than two people in it**.”

“Correct,” Ryouma chuckles. “For Tenko’s body to end up in the suite’s bathroom, she had to **die in the elevator**.

[ **\- Sudden Class Trial Solar Edition V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/0zBSCMVTG04)

“Hey, how the hell do we know if Shittyhara didn't **get in that elevator on his own**?” Miu sharply demands.

“What?” I deadpan in return. “He was _kidnapped_ Miu.”

“Yeah but do we have legitimate proof and NOT a ploy?” I mean, I guess that's a legitimate concern but I can't believe she's seriously asking this. “What if it was some kinky sex roleplay gone wrong?! He’s SO into being tied up and helpless! Just look at him!”

. . .Nevermind.

“I was held captive Iruma-san!” Shuuichi exclaims almost offended by her suggestion. “I was tied up and completely defenseless! There’s no way I could have moved at all!”

“Side note, Kazehaya and myself found him _still_ tied up.” Ryouma snorts.

“Perhaps he tied himself up.” Shinguuji offers.

“Is that even possible?” I quietly wonder.

“Shut up!” Maki shouts, the volume her voice box was set to was rather impressive as it left everyone wincing in pain.

**COUNTER!**

  * “ **Kaito’s Testimony** ”



**BREAK!**

“You want proof here it is!”

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“Now keep your nasty kink shit to yourself.” Maki snarls.

“Bondage is tame!” Miu shouts back. Maki gives her a look that causes her to immediately shrivels up and play with her hair.

“Now, now, let us all calm down.” Angie coos, pressing her hands together above her head. There was a strange power about her words . . . And to my utter surprise the courtroom plunges into silence. A smile stretches across her face but her eyes are twinkling with _that look_ as she glances my way. A stupid smug look. “Atua praises you all for your cooperation! Now, tell us your tale Maki!” Maki makes a rather disgusted face but decides to recount the events in the woods that lead up to Shuuichi’s kidnapping.

“Momota is a dumbass.” She tactfully begins. “He says, oh, let's go in the woods while it’s dark out and figure out who attacked Amami. Instead, all we find is a trip wire trap.” Kaito winces and glances to the side while Shuuichi scratches his cheek.

“A trip wire trap?” Kiibo repeats, his eyes wide with shock. “Why would such thing be out there. . .?”

“To trap someone obviously,” Maki sneers. “I was hit when I pushed Momota out of the way and then someone appeared just to attack Saihara. . . and then, they whisked him away.”

“I, um, I repaired Harukawa-san that night.” Ikiko speaks up, playing with her fingers. “I even managed to get a piece of the trap as evidence before it was dismantled.” It was _what_? When did that happen. . .?

“Dismantled?” I repeat.

“When we found Chabashira-san’s body, I decided to visit the trap again. . . I had a feeling it would come up in the trial but when I returned to the scene with Harukawa-san. . . the trap was gone. . . I luckily kept one of the wooden spikes from the trap. . .”

“Kept a spike. . .?” Shinguuji murmurs, stroking his chin. “Whatever for?”

“Ah. . . .Well, I felt it was important to keep as it was evidence since it was a possibility that the person who made the trap would come back. . . And it turned out they did.”

“It’s very lucky that you took such a precautionary measure!” Kiibo beams. Ikiko smiles awkwardly.

[ **\- Me and My Class Trial -** ](https://youtu.be/Gs1ORsEG2Yw)

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

**BEGIN!**

“But we have no idea who did it!” Himiko suddenly shouts. I wince at the volume of her voice and Ouma jumps just a bit while seeing her so furious suddenly has others on the defence once more. There’s no magic floating around her, just anger. “Shuuichi being kidnapped has **_nothing_** to do with Tenko’s death! Why are we even talking about it?!”

“What are you talking about?!” Kaito demands. “Of course it does!”

“Oh? Are you certain on that?” Angie ponders, poking her bottom lip with her paint brush.

“Anyone with a fuckin’ brain can see it’s connected!” Miu snarls.

“ . . .Then perhaps we should explain it to Angie-san?” Gonta softly questions.

“Yes! Yes!” Angie beams, clasping her hands together! “Atua demands **evidence**!”

 

* * *

  

[ **\- Excavation Imagination -** ](https://youtu.be/j5k8eZHblCk)

I have to connect the attack on Amami to the kidnapping and the kidnapping to the murder. All three of these events are connected no matter what anyone says. . . I have to prove it.

Someone’s testimony is the key to this. . . The details to it is important. . . But not only the details. . . The reason behind it. The reason for the testimony.

It took a moment to visualize it, but I could see it in my mind’s eye! The piece of evidence that would help link it together!

**COUNTER!**

  * “ **Trip Wire Trap** ”



**BREAK!**

“I see! Allow me to piece it together for you!”

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“To fully grasp the situation, we need to dissect it from the very beginning.We shouldn’t ask _why_ Shuuichi was kidnapped but _why_ did he, Kaichii and Harukawa-chan enter the woods in the first place. So please, bare with me in so we may find the full story.”

“Why they went in the woods. . .?” Himiko repeats looking to me in confusion.

“Remembered Kaichii’s Testimony? Amani-kun was attacked and he intended to pursue the attacker once I left to accompany Amani-kun to the hospital wing.”

“. . . And a trap was waiting in the woods.” Kiibo quietly mutters, sweat rolling down the side of his head. “A trap doesn't coincidentally appear. . . Someone set it up knowing Momota-kun, Saihara-kun and Harukawa-san would enter the woods.”

“Very good!” Angie giggles. “Atua is pleased with your ability to work together! Now, our next question should be **why was Amami spared**?”

[ **\- New Classmate of the Dead -** ](https://youtu.be/TYg7FdkHQwk)

**NONSTOP DEBATE**

**BEGIN!**

“Why was Amami spared?” Angie repeated once more, a grin on her face. Amami almost looks offended by her words.

“Why was I spared?” He questions, his arms across his chest.

“Well, why were you?” Angie beams, rocking back and forth at her podium, her eyes twinkling with what appeared to be amusement. “If someone was to attack someone, wouldn't it make sense to finish the job?”

. . .What the hell is with the way she’s talking? She wasn’t like this the last time we were in a trial. . . She may have gained Ouma’s cutting tongue and ability to lie. . . but not his brilliance. One thing is certain to me and that’s she’s  legitimately clueless to what happened.

So is she intentionally acting this way. . . to get us to work together and understand the situation to the fullest?

“The dumbass probably thought he was dead!”

“I heard Amami-kun has a hole for an eye now.” Gonta sadly mutters.

“Ah, that’s rather simple actually. . .” Ryouma begins.

“Ehehe. . . A hole, huh. . .?”

“. . . Attacking Amami was only **bait**. . . Wait, are you serious right now?”

“Shut your whore mouth, you cumdumpster!”

“C-Cumdumpster?! O-Oh yeah! Say more things like that to me!”

“. . .Disgusting. . .”

“Jesus Christ.”

**AGREEMENT!**

  * “ **Amami’s Testimony** ”



**CONSENT!**

“I agree with that!”

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“After dinner on the night of the 29th, Amami was inside the school store until a half hour after the night time announcement. Amami was alone for at least three hours, and yet he was not attacked until he _left_ the school building. In addition, no one in their right mind would purposely leave a body in such an obvious place. Hell, why attack him in such an open place? It’s obvious that his body was intentionally left there for Maki and myself could find it.”

“Oh!” Ikiko gasps. “That's right, Harukawa-san said you were helping her fix her lab and the work lasted all day. You two didn't finish until some time after the nighttime announcement, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Maki mutely responds.

“Ah, so that's where you went.” Shinguuji muses. “We were curious to when dinner hour approached and no one could find you. . .”

“Maybe,” I mumble, resting my chin on my closed fist. “Someone had to know where I was and timed it out so I could find Amami. Him being bait to get to Shuuichi is the only logical explanation.” All the evidence we gathered points out that Amami was bait to get me away from Shuuichi and the trip wire trap was to get Kaito away from Shuuichi as well. . . . but somehow, he wasn't the one that died. . .

I know these events are connected to the death of Tenko but I don't have the how or why. . . thus, all of this would be a meaningless tangent unless I could prove otherwise. I can't let everyone’s efforts amount to nothing. . . I have to figure this out -- my way.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- BRAIN DRIVER -** ](https://youtu.be/TBPN9HSy7z8)

**QUESTION 01**

**HOW PREPARED WAS THE MURDER?**

_They prearranged a room and supplies to clean up._

 

**QUESTION 02**

**WHO WAS THE MURDER PREPARED FOR?**

_Shuuichi._

 

**QUESTION 03**

**THEN WHY WAS TENKO KILLED?**

_An accident._

 

* * *

 

“. . .Amami’s Testimony proves the connection, because, it proves Tenko’s death. . . was an accident.”

[ **\- Class Trial Revival Edition (No Intro) -** ](https://youtu.be/9jISGfnYtNc)

“An accident?!” Ouma exclaims, his loud voice of shock nearly blowing out my ear in the process. I wince. “How the hell do you accidentally kill someone?!”

“Continuing from Kaichii’s Testimony once more, Shuuichi was kidnapped and the kidnapper took him to Hotel Kamasutra because, as Hoshi-kun suggested, it's both expensive and likely to deter people from looking there. However, on their way to bring Shuuichi to the hotel, Tenko -- out on her usual night time jogs -- sees an unconscious individual being taken to a skeezy hotel and attempts to help them out. . .

“A fight ensues in the elevator and she dies in the process. Which leads to the bleached elevator we discussed to the beginning of this trial. . . .and the discovery of her workout clothes in a trash bag in Suite 02.”

**ARGUE!**

“Atua sees your errors!”

[ **\- V3 Rebuttal -CROSS SWORD- -** ](https://youtu.be/8RH6eBHW1Gw)

what

I just. . . stare blankly at Angie. Her god sees my errors. The fuck is she talking about?

“My errors?”

“Your argument is completely flawed!”

“How the hell is it flawed?”

“Your love for Shuuichi is admirable. Even Atua recognizes its genuine and passionate nature,” Angie praises folding her hands together. “But, you forget, Shuuichi is a man! **Tenko despises all men**!” Okay. That was true in the past but she was working on that before she died. I’m certain she would have tried something if she saw a man in trouble now. I refuse to believe she would have turned a blind eye to Shuuichi.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure you’re the one mistaken.” I counter, pointing at her. Angie places her hands on her cheeks in confusion.

“Ooh? How so? Tenko has voiced nothing but a strong dislike for me since we woke up here!”

“She’s stopped calling men menaces since the last trial. Hell, she knocked Ouma out while he was drowning in the pool and then she apologized to him, _without_ calling him a menace.”

“Is that all? That only proves she was being the adult of the situation does it not?”

**COUNTER!**

===|---[ WORKOUT CLOTHES ]---->

**SLICE!**

“I’ll cut down those words!”

[ **\- Class Trial Dawn Edition, Volume 3 -** ](https://youtu.be/ogas6954gxk)

“Yes, but also no.” I confidently push forward. “Yes it was mature of her to apologize, but she didn’t _have to_ call him something other than a menace. The fact she did that is proof that she was changing and opening her hearts to men.

“The day I gave her the workout clothes, the very same clothes found at the scene of the crime, she told me she wanted to change. She wanted to become better. Those clothes were _more_ than clothes. They were proof of a promise she made to me!”

**BREAK!**

“. . . Me too. . .” Himiko mumbles. “She made that promise to me too. She wanted me to help her if she ever got out of line. . . and complete a promise of my own. . . At the time, I didn’t understand it. . . but I think it was about her final request, the one Saihara-kun and Momota-kun told me about. . .”

“Then, if both onee-chan and Yumeno-chan can confirm this change in Chabashira-chan, it would mean she definitely saw Saihara-chan being kidnapped and tried to do something.” Ouma points out.

“Yeah, That seems about right.” Amami briefly nods his head before glancing over to Shuuichi. “Saihara-kun, is it possible to testify about your time in captivity?”

“I. . . Yeah. . .” With his confirmation, his podium suddenly shifts to the center stage. Shuuichi sweats a bit, looking uncomfortable that attention is focused entirely on him. “It’s a bit hazy but I’ll try my best. . . I briefly regained consciousness for a short time, I don't remember the scene. . . I recall fighting. . .” There was a pause as Shuuichi tries to recall more exact details of the scene. “There were **two female voices** , I believe.”

“Two female voices?” I repeat, a taken back by this news. I never once asked about this. . . Honestly, I should have, but two women. . . Who could the other one be then. . .? Could it be. . . **that person**?

“Gonta sees. . . one must have been Chabashira-san.” Gonta says, nodding his head.

“I believe so too. . .” Shuuichi admits, clenching his chest. “I. . .I never got a chance to see although. . . I remember a sharp pain. . . and everything went black again. I guess my head was smashed against the wall of the elevator.”

“Is that all?” I ask in soft voice. Slowly, Shuuichi shakes his head.

“No, I woke up again, this time in the suite. By this time, I was tied up and blindfolded so I never saw their face, but I heard their voice clearly this time. . . .They held a knife to my throat. .  .and they said ‘an uninvited guest followed us.’ and they had to . . . ‘take care off them’.” He clutches his chest just a little harder, distress consuming his face. “I was so scared. I didn't want to die. . . but Chabashira-san, she didn't deserve that. . .”

“Are you certain it was Chabashira-san?” Shinguuji suddenly asks. 

“Huh. . .?”

“Are you even real?” I find myself asking.

“But of course, I am very real.” With a grin under that mask he spreads his arms open as if he’s embracing . . . _something._ “Just like we all are as children of the Gray Garden.”

“Don't do that.” The words come out before I can stop myself and it’s stupid as hell. I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh. “The evidence is clearly dictating that Tenko died on the day Shuuichi was kidnapped!”

“And yet. . . **I saw her return to the dorms that night.** ”

[ **\- Class Trial Cosmic Edition -** ](https://youtu.be/o7BNONdDcP4)

“You _what_?!” I screech. Why the _hell_ would this fucker withhold this information until now?!

“Yes, I was enraptured by the illustrations in your talent lab and I was absorbing all the information they had to offer. They were quite impressive and a riveting theory to the birth of the universe. While making way to the hoden, I saw her making her way back to the dorm.”

First of all, it aint a theory. That's how the goddamn universe was made you fucking tool.

“The answer is simple, it was a decoy.” Ryouma simply states, tapping his fingers against the rail of his podium. “Combining what I know with Momota and Saihara’s testimony it’s clear to see the killer was certainly a woman.”

“With That in mind, it would be so easy for someone to dress up as her and sneak out the building again via the ventilation system!” I add with an annoyed tone.

“I saw that in the **Evidence List**. . . but how do we know the outside grate was tampered with before the murder?” Ikiko murmurs, playing with her fingers. “Even then, you can’t connect these to events, right? So if Tenko was witnessed to back to her dorms on the night of Shuuichi’s kidnapping, then, she wasn’t killed that night, but maybe last night?”

I grind my teeth in irritation. Ikiko is unfortunately correct. As correct as this seems to me, I don’t have any solid evidence that the grate was tampered with on the night of Shuuichi’s kidnapping. It, unfortunately, counts as circumstantial evidence, even more so than anything else I have on hand. I could at least rely on others to back me up for a number of other pieces of evidence. . . but I got nothing here.

“Who the hell would go through that kind of trouble?” Miu questions.

“We’re dealing with someone experienced. It makes perfect sense they would do something like this to keep suspicions off themself and obfuscate the time of death.” Maki explains.

“It seems troublesome but, I believe in Saihara-kun’s claim!” Kiibo exclaims.

“Gonta isn’t sure. . . this is very confusing. Why would the killer pretend to be someone else?”

“To throw off of course!” Kaito shouts, shaking his fist in frustration. I can’t blame him for his anger. We were making progress and then Shinguuji decides to throw an entire fucking wrench into the situation. Still, this is the right path. I can’t back down or falter on my stance now!

“But how can we be sure it was not Yuuki herself?” Angie questions.

_A R E  Y O U F U C K I N G  S E R I O U S_

“That’s true.” Shinguuji nods. “She’s leading this entire trial and basing most of her evidence on a series of circumstances or conversations that only she can say happened.”

“Eat my entire ass Shinguuji!” I shout, infuriated he would dare imply I would lie to get this trial to go my way. I don't have time for such absolute horse shit! “Tenko died on the day Shuuichi was kidnapped!”

“The following day.” Angie insists.

“Don’t bullshit me!”

**HALT!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how the fuck do i write a trial


	29. {02} Trial {02}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> todays update was a LITTLE delayed for the art piece I spent all day yesterday making

**HALT!**

“I heard it again!” Monokuma exclaims. “I heard it with my bellybutton sensor! A split of opinion! Alright! There’s no need for any more of this arguing! Let’s duke it out in the **transforming courtroom!** ”

As usual, he’s annoying as hell, but he was right about this. There was a split of opinion, thankfully, it wasn’t as severe as last time but it would be hard to continue a case with so many people disagreeing. They could attempt to get the case off track and try and steer it the direction they want. There's really no other choice, huh? We have to get the point across if we were gonna get this case anywhere.

“TH1S-1S-EXC1T1NG.”

“I wish Monotaro was here to see this. He loved **Split** **of** **Opinions**. . .” Monophanie mumbles.

“I bet he’s rockin’ out beyond the grave right now!” Monokid shouts. Monosuke has nothing to comment, he just looks . . . pissed as hell. What a little shit.

“Yahoo! Let’s do this!” Monokuma beams, brandishing his silver key out of nowhere. “Make your decisions!” As he says that the platform’s screens present us with two choices. Just like before, I quickly choose and confirm my choice, causing my screen to change to a blue color with a **PING!** sound.

[ **\- V3 Discussion -SCRUM!- -** ](https://youtu.be/CRLZn28a77c)

Once the fifteen of us make our choices, a panel in Monokuma’s throne open to present him with a the series of gears that whirl to reveal a panel. When he trusts the key into the device and turns it, a cyan LED lights travel down the silver nodes in the floor and the room transforms once more. The floor rises, railings suddenly extend from the back and front of our podiums, keeping us safely locked as the rings around the bottom of the podiums light up.

Rings of light circle our podiums, and one by one, they begin to fly up into the air, in a motion that mirrors the twisting and curling of the double helixes that make up DNA. In time, we surpass the stained glass windows and the ceiling parts, allowing us in the glass dome where the helix breaks into two strands.

**SPLIT** **OF** **OPINION** **!**

May it be the artificial lighting or the light of the morning sun, the area is bright enough for us to figure out who made up what side of the argument. I was leading the **DAY OF** group, which was composed of Ryouma, Maki, Amami, Himiko, Ouma, Kiibo, Shuuichi and Kaito. While Angie lead **DAY AFTER** , consisting of Ikiko, Gonta, Shinguuji and Miu. Shortly afterwards, Monokuma arrives at the scene on his plush seat, which extended from his throne bellow. A grin stretches across his plush face before he announces the subject of the debate to all of us.

**WHEN DID TENKO DIE?**

**THE DAY AFTER THE KIDNAPPING** **VS** **THE DAY OF THE KIDNAPPING**

**SCRUM DEBATE**

**BEGIN!!**

“The entirety of Kazehaya-san’s argument is based off things she supposedly said between her and Chabashira-san, correct?” Shinguuji inquires, a thoughtful finger resting on his chin. “How can we trust the things she says to be genuine and unbiased?”

|    


“That’s wrong!” Himiko argues, shaking her fists. “Tenko said the same things to me too! **She told me she wanted to become a better person!** ”  
  
---|---  
  


“So!?” Miu shouts. “Just because she _says_ it doesn't mean she did bother to change!”

| 

“Chabashira’s things were found in **Love Suite 02’s bathroom, covered in blood.** ” Ryouma sighs, tucking his hands in the pockets of his pajamas. “It’s pretty easy to infer she tried to rescue Saihara but failed.”  
  
  


“But Shinguuji-kun said he _saw_ Chabashira-san head to the dorms on the night of Shuuici’s kidnapping.” Ikiko attempts to reason.

| 

“It was most likely a **decoy,** ” Ouma sighs, checking his nails. It didn't have the same power as before, but his attitude about this conversation was coming across pretty clearly. “Not to mention it _was_ night time, there’s no way to tell if that was Chabashira-chan from far away.”  
  
  


“. . . Gonta also recalls seeing Tenko at breakfast the yesterday. . .” Gonta confesses looking quite baffled.

|    


“How can we trust if that was truly Chabashira-san if **she didn't meet Yumeno-san yesterday?** ” Amami gently questions.  
  
  


“That’s easy!” Angie beams, clasping her hands together. “Tenko forgot!”

|    


“That’s a poor excuse!” Shuuichi argues back. “ **Chabashira-san would _never_ forget a previous arrangement with Yumeno-san!**”  
  
 

**CROUCH-BIND**

**SET!**

“THIS IS OUR ANSWER!”

**FULL COUNTER!**

[ **\- Class Trial Dawn Edition, Volume 3 -** ](https://youtu.be/ogas6954gxk)

With Himiko’s Testimony, we’re able to make a damn good argument that forces the **DAY AFTER** group concede, and the podiums return to the ground floor where we can continue this case.

“Himiko gained Tenko’s talent thanks to the recent motive,” I begin. “Learning about this, Tenko wanted to do training with her. Even if she couldn't do Aikido properly, it was a moment she could spend with someone important to her. So, for Tenko to _not_ appear for that appointment and keep Himiko waiting all day? Something clearly happened to her.”

“So, **who did it?** ” Angie questions. Seeing my blank expression, she smiles and waggles her finger. “You may have proved your point that Tenko died the day of kidnapping, but what use is that if we can't figure out who did it!”

“What a biting comment!” Monokuma gasps. “Well, perhaps this is a good time for an intermission! Maybe our precious ex-preacher will have an answer!”

**CLASS TRIAL**

**INTERMISSION**

Why the hell am I the one that needs to have an answer? He’s doing this out of spite. I bet he is. But, whatever. It gives me time to look over **that thing.**

So while the others milled around the courtroom, some talking in small groups as they struggled to figure out who did the crime. We finally have the how. . .  We’re finally close to closing this case and finding Tenko justice. With the Monokubz Pad in hand, I reviewed the footage one more time.

“Kazehaya-san. .  . what are you looking at?” Shuuichi questions in a soft voice. Lost in my own world, I failed to notice he approached me. I flail like an idiot at first. . . but as I calmed down a realization came to me. Perhaps Shuuichi could help spread some light on the situation. “Kazehaya-san, are you okay. . .?”

“Yeah. . .uh, actually, I need your help Shuuichi. . .” His face explodes with red at the use of his name without honorifics but I quickly push aside my own embarrassment to motion for him to come closer. He awkwardly shuffles closer and I make the video play once more. Shuuichi watches with wide eye confusion . . . and a realization hits him.

“Do you. . . recognize the face?”

“. . .Yes . . . That’s. . .”

* * *

 

**CLASS TRIAL**

**RESUME**

“Soooo. . . Do you figure out who did the thing?” Monokuma asks the moment the trial resumed. I take a deep breath and nod my head.

“Yeah, I figured it out.” The most unlikely person. Someone who lied all along. Lied about who they were and what their talent was. I chose to use a favor to protect people like them from having their secrets dragged into the open and exploited. . . but, I’ll have to do exactly what I wanted to avoid in order to protect everyone.

Once again, my heart feels heavy. I don't like the idea that I’m stuck in a situation that will send someone to their death. . . And I’m sorry for that. But I refuse to let this simply slide.

[ **\- Who’s There? -** ](https://youtu.be/_pS5soRsrKQ)

**IDENTIFY THE CULPRIT!**

Sakiyo Shinguuji

**VERDICT!**

“Sakiyo Shinguuji, you are the murder of Tenko Chabashira!”

My voice is firm and my face is determined as I point a finger across the courtroom to where Shinguuji stood. I refuse to falter as I see the answer clearly laid out before me.

“Huh?! Shinguuji. . . Sakiyo. . . ?” Kiibo gasps, completely baffled by what I suggested. The entire courtroom is silent for several long moments out of pure shock before everyone completely loses their shit. All but Shuuichi, who continues for me.

“On the day of the pool party, we all received a motive.” He begins and all eyes turn to him,

“The fuck you talking about?!” Miu demands. “The only fuckin’ motive we got was swappin’ around our talents!”

“No, that’s wrong!” He shouts back. Realizing what he just did he awkwardly apologizes for his shouting before picking up where he left off. “Kazehaya-san was the first to awake that day, far earlier than usual.”

“Right, cause she had all that cooking to do. . .” Kaito mumbles, stroking his chin. “So, because she woke up early. . . **she found this motive before we did. . .** ”

“What’s the point?” Maki demands, her eyes narrowing. Her response is biting and she sends me a sharp look. I can only awkwardly smile back. I have no intention to reveal her actual talent. After all, that would made everything I’ve done so far pointless.

“ **SH3-SW4PP3D-TH1S-M0T1V3-W1TH-4-F4V0R.** ” Monodam explains. “SH3-D1D-N0T-W4NT-4NY0N3’S  -P3RS0N4L-1NF0RM4T10N-0R-T4L3NTS-T0-B3-US3D-4G41NST-TH3M.”

“Yeah, she did great with that.” Ouma snidely comments, giving me a pointed look out the corner of his eye. Can't say I didn't expect that when this was to come to the light. I wanted to protect everyone when I asked for the different motive but I had no idea about Ouma’s magic or his past. I’m. . . I’m rather ashamed that my attempts to help only hurt him so badly in the end.

“The motive videos were collected by Monodam before everyone woke up and locked in a safe in my room.” I suddenly explain to get my mind off those thoughts.. “Apparently we all have one. But that’s besides the point, Iruma-chan was sleeping in my room for a while, for. . . health reasons. Monodam was most likely unaware of this, as I found the video that was intended to be for her in my bed. . .” As I say these words, Shuuichi branishes the Monokubz Pad I passed along to him during the intermission and taps the screen to activate the player.

 

* * *

 

**Sakiyo Shinguuji’s Motive Video**

**What Is Your Motive?**

_Back by popular demand, it’s the time for the ‘Motive Video’!_

_Who’s the most important person in your life?_

_And now, without further ado. . ._

 

_Sakiyo Shinguuji, the Super High School Level Archaeologist. . .!_

 

_Saiyako-chan, was born into a humble family as the first born child._

_She was loved and adored as their precious first born child_

_At a young age she happened to show a great interest in archaeology. . ._

 

_However, four years later their attention shifted to their newborn son, Korekiyo._

_The young boy idolized his sister and took an interest in anthropology as an excuse to remain close to her._

_And soon, she would become all he had as their parents tragically died, leaving them both behind!_

 

_Sakiyo’s interests were placed to the side as she was forced to take up the the role of the adult._

_Being forced to cook, clean and raise her own brother, a mariana trench was formed between the two siblings._

_The two grew up in a frigid environment, barely able to talk to each other without bitterness hanging in the air_

 

_Until Korekiyo collapsed and was rushed to the hospital._

_That was the day the two discovered that not only did he have a weak immune system. . . ._

_But he inherited something from his late mother. . ._

 

_Becker's muscular dystrophy -- otherwise known as BMD._

_BMD is a genetic disease, far more common in men, that slowly destroys the muscles in the legs and pelvic region._

_Sakiyo was in shock while Korekiyo was at a loss of what to do._

 

  _He was invited on a trip to learn about a culture located in Central America,_

_If he did not appear, all of his efforts up to that point would be meaningless,_

_And he could no longer continue his dream of being an anthropologist._

 

_Taking pity on her brother for the first time in years,_

_Sakiyo told him she would go in his place._

_And thus began the lie of the Shinguuji siblings._

 

_Sakiyo would head to sites of cultural significance under the guise of her brother,_

_A lie that would never fade away for years to come._

_It may as well one day become the truth._

 

_Right now, our team is bringing you an interview of this young woman’s younger brother._

_He’s very worried over Sakiyo-chan’s disappearances and wishes for the safety of his sister!_

_Let’s listen to him in person, shall we--!_

 

 _“You’re recording me. . .?_ **_COUGH_ ** _Well, I don't mind that much. . ._

 _As long as onee-sama is fine. . . I’ll be happy. . .!_ **_COUGH! COUGH!_ ** _”_

 

_Shinguuji-kun has only one wish . . . and that’s for his sister to be safe!_

_How pure hearted of him!_

_I wonder if Sakiyo-chan can fulfill such a wish?_

 

_Oh, I almost forgot. . ._

_Some time after this interview, Shinguuji-kun was met with an unbearable outcome for sorts!_

_However, what happened to him is a secret!_

 

_Feel free to see the truth with your own eyes, okay?_

 

* * *

 

 **N** **E** **W EVIDENCE** **SUBMITTED** **!**

  * “ **Sakiyo Shinguuji’s Motive Video** ”; The Original Motive Monokuma intended to use against the students, a video detailing their talents and the situations surrounding their families. This video revealed that Sakiyo was acting in the place of her ailing brother Korekiyo.



“You’re going to believe a video made by Monokuma over me?” Sakiyo demands, slamming her bandaged hands down on the rail of her podium. She winces for a moment but her anger doesn't fade. In fact, it looks twice as explosive now.

[ **\- New Classmate of the Dead -** ](https://youtu.be/TYg7FdkHQwk)

“Don’t be fucking stupid! Of course I will!” I exclaim, pointing at her with a furious expression. “The reason why Shuuichi and myself are so confident is because **you exposed yourself!** ” The courtroom murmurs with confusion at this revilaton, trying to figure out how and when she exposed her identity. At first, I didn't realize it either. . .but it was the little things that gave her away all along. The brief moments she broke her facade and rambled, causing her talent to shine through. Her true and genuine talent.

“. . .What?”

“ **Pharos of Alexandria! The Paleolithic hoax!** ” I snarl.

“You said it yourself. . . ‘History is records, archaeology is buildings and relics, anthropology is folklore and customs.’” Shuuichi continues to explain our reasoning with a confident and serious expression on his face as he points to her as well. “If you were a genuine anthropologist, why do you _always_ return to relics and historical events surrounding them?”

“That’s a lie!” She shrieks. For a moment I hear her voice crack. She’s tugging at her hair, shooting the two of us the nastiest look she could muster. I don’t even blink at it. And then. . . she suddenly calms down. Perhaps because she's realized she can't lie her way out of this now it's on the table. She pulls the leather mask down to reveal her face in full. Pale, smooth skin and bright red lipstick. She would have looked lovey. . . if it wasn't for her shitty personality.

“. . .So, you are right. I am Sakiyo Shinguuji, **Super High School Level Archaeologist.** ” Her eyes narrow and her voice grows sharp. “But that doesn’t prove a damn thing! How the hell does my identity prove I killed Chabashira?!”

“It was your face.” Shuuichi states in a confidently tone, never tearing his eyes away from our suspect. I couldn't help but internally scream because, holy shit. My boyfriend is so cool when he's so sure of himself and he pursues the truth he believes in. “I remember. The moment I saw the footage of you in the Motive Video, I recognized it. The face of my attacker.”

“You’re wrong!” She bellows in return. “I did not attack you! I did not kill anyone! Kazehaya is full of **_SHIT_**!” Once more her hands slam against the railing of the podium, her face twists into an expression of pain. . . and something clicks in my mind as the pieces of the puzzle finally assemble themselves in my head.

“. . . Gonta thinks Shinguuji-san should tell the truth.” Gonta suddenly speaks up, his brows furrowed in a rather serious expression. Sakiyo gawks at him. She’s utterly scandalized by the concept of _Gonta_ , of all people, called her out as a liar.

“Atua thinks so too!” Angie beams clasping her hands together with a giggle. A dark look is suddenly cast over her her expression as she wiggles her index finger. “After all, Atua knew you lied about seeing Tenko.”

“Your _god_? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Hey, hey, was it you?” Angie continues to question, ignoring Sakiyo’s previous statement. “Are you so certain it was Tenko, because _you_ dressed up like her? Atua says that’s easy to do because the workout clothes is a common prize! And Angie knows you weren’t at Kazehaya’s lab because **Angie was there**! So, didya? Didya?”

I feel like I just got slapped right outta of left field. Angie snuck into my lab after hours? Why would she do that?! I had a thousand questions about it but now wasn’t the time. Not when were this close to closing the case. Going on about that would just be another tangent that would give Sakiyo a chance to escape.

“But, now that we have someone confirming that you was pretending to be Tenko, thanks to Angie. . .” Angie simply smiles and I can only make an awkward expression. “This means, the possibility of the **vents being used** can be brought back.”

“Those vents have no meaning.” Sakiyo hisses.

“Bullshit.” I counter. “Of all the rooms to tampered with, it’s _only_ Tenko’s? And on the night of her murder? This is clearly connected.”

“She’s right. . .” Ikiko pipes up, wearily looking at Sakiyo. “If we know with absolute certainty that Chabashira-chan died on the day of Saihara-kun’s kidnapping. . . the fact that her room _was_ tampered with is suspicious. . .”

“There’s no accessible vents inside the building. The ones in the lobby are far too small for anyone to use and the only ones someone could use would be the ones in our rooms.” Ouma points out, his brows furrowed with anger. It’s kinda surprising to see him so. . . angry. He’s been a lot of things because of his inability to lie but anger wasn't one of it. It kinda gave a completely different impression of him. I guess . . .he really does hate murder more than anything. . . “After killing Chabashira-chan, all you needed to do was get a screwdriver, remove the grate on the outside the dorm building, enter her room and escape via the vent in her room to create the illusion that she returned to her dorm and you could scamper off to create more mayhem.” Sakiyo gives him a cutting look but, despite how uncomfortable he looked, Ouma did not back down or stop glaring right back at her.

“You can’t prove any of th--!”

“They can't, but Angie can! After all, Atua told Angie that you would emerge from the vent! So, Angie waited and watched and it was as Atua said!” Angie beams, clapping her hands together and proceeding to hug her body. “Truthfully, Atua told Angie who the killer was all along! She just didn't know _how_ it was done!”

_w h a t  
_

Is she really trying to say. . . she _knew_ but didn't tell anyone because she didn't _know_ how the crime was carried out? Okay. Sure. That’s fair. We can't accuse anyone without some sort of proof but it would have been nice to know these details before hand. Jesus Christ.

“Shinguuji-san, why. . . why did you do it?” Shuuichi asks, dragging me out of my muddled thoughts. “Was it. . . Was it to see your brother?”  As he continued, I realized how soft his voice was. He seemed to be sympathetic about her situation. . .but I found it a little hard to feel that way for her. She tried to _kill him_. I have a hard time forgiving needless murder and harm against those I love. . . but. . .

. . .the response we get is. . . incredibly unprecedented. 

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpBQyrFxh6Y)

. . . She laughs.

Not something pitying, sad or hallow. But. . . Amused. Bitter. Insane. She laughs and laughs, throwing her head back with each loud cackle. It's like nails against a chalkboard in my mind. . . And I can hear it. The sound of my warning bells going haywire.

“For my BROTHER?!” She shrieks. Her body goes limp as if she’s been cut from strings, her hair covers her face and from between her bangs, she shoots Shuuichi a cutting look. “As if I’d kill for that piece of shit! I’ve been _waiting_ for that fuck to die. That pathetic, whimpering, crying welp is better off dead!”

“You can't be serious. . .” Amami’s voice shakes, almost like he’s begging for this not to be true. “He’s your. . . He’s your brother! Your family!”

“He’s such a fucking dumbass!” She quips, poisonous words and laughter weeding back into her voice. “He’d listen to me when I insisted he needs to rest more. Do you know what inactivity does to those with BMD? It deteriorates the muscles faster! He would have been out of my hair faster! That piece of SHIT! Korekiyo has been NOTHING but a problem for me!”

This is. . . This is her true colors.

And. . . it’s revealed the true final key of this case to me.

“Then. . .” I begin slowly with a horrified expression. She stands tall, brushing her bangs back to give me an impassive look. “Then the reason why it was so hard to get facts, why so little evidence was found. . . why it looked so well planned out. . .”

[ **\- Class Trial Cosmic Edition -** ](https://youtu.be/o7BNONdDcP4)

“Was because you ** _DID_** plan this out over a long period of time!

 **You planned to kill your brother with this very same method!** ”

The court _immediately_ loses it’s shit. Amami, someone who was revealed to have multiple siblings, looked horrified by the concept of an older sibling wanting to deliberately kill a younger sibling that relied on them. Not to mention purposely hindered any sort of therapy they needed.

Ikiko gasps, bringing a hand to cover her mouth, gasping in horror. Ouma. . . Ouma was beyond horrified. His eyes were wide with shock, his body trembling . . .and soon it dissipated to nothing but raw absolute anger. He was _pissed_.

“You bitch. . .!” Ouma shouts. “How the hell could you do that?! He depends on you! You’re all he has left in the world!”

“This is all hearsay!” Sakiyo snarls. “A random assumption! There’s no fact to this!”

“That’s where you're wrong!” I counter. “There is most certainly proof to prove that you are the murderer! Undeniable proof! So, admit your crime!”

“You. . . ! You’re full of shit Kazehaya!”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- NEW T.A -** ](https://youtu.be/IblSPzSa7CQ)

**THEORY ARGUMENT**

**BEGIN!**

 

                           "There is nothing to admit!"

“I haven’t don't anything wrong!”                          

“Are you sure about that?”

                                  “Nothing _illegal_ on these school grounds! ”

“Thus! I am not the culprit!”                                                              

        “You’re a delusional bitch Kazehaya!

         Magic? A Council of Gods?

         THE GODDESS OF HOPE ITSELF?!”

 "Every word you speak!                                        

Every action you take!                                         

  It’s insanity!”                                                

   

“None of this is an argument!

If you want to disprove me, use evidence goddamnit!

Jesus Christ!”

                          “This debate is meaningless!

                            I already fucking told you!

                            I’m not the culprit!”

   “Don't fuckin look at me like that!                          

Don't look at me like I’m below you!                          

I’m above all of you!                                      

 I am history itself!”                                        

“You’re all wrong!

Not me!”

“ **WHAT POSSIBLE PROOF CAN YOU HAVE?!** ”

**FINAL BLOW!**

**BUR** **NT** **BAND** **AGES** **!**

“IT ENDS HERE!”

**BREAK!**

 

* * *

 

With my declaration, the Devilman ejects itself out of my purse. The sword flips through the air and stabs itself into the screen of Sakiyo’s podium. To her shock, wrapped around the handle of the katana was a long length of dirty and slightly charred bandages.

Her shock only grows in tenfold as the bandages wrapped around her hands were suddenly sliced away, revealing the poor state they were in. The skin was somewhat red, but it there was large grotesque yellow blistering covering the skin. An irrefutable sign that she touched mustard gas.

[ **\- V3 Discussion -BREAK!- -** ](https://youtu.be/vDdvBPjSQqw)

“The other day you told me you burnt your hands. . .that claim was not a lie. However, you lied about **_how_** you burnt yourself. You burnt your hands not once, but twice in one night! The first burn came from the **Melody Pocket Knife**! My knife is designed to harm those with bad intentions so when you took it from Amami to attack him, you were hurt as a result! The second time you burnt yourself is from the creation of **Mustard Gas** , which explains the state of your hands as yellow blistering is a common trait of exposure to mustard gas that appears hours after the first contact!”

“Then, that would also explain the different numbers on the list in Toujou-san’s lab!” Gonta exclaims. “Shinguuji-san must have stolen a bottle of bleach and other supplies!”

“Like the knife from the kitchen!” Kiibo adds. “Kazehaya-san pointed out it was missing on the day of Saihara-kun’s recovery!”

“I would like to confirm all the missing items were found in Love Suite 02.” Ryouma hums. “The only exception being the bottle of bleach, which Kazehaya found in the bin behind the school.”

“Then . . . Let's bring this case to a close, together.”

 

* * *

 

**CLIMAX LOGIC**

**BEGIN!**

[ **\- Climax Re-Enactment V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/kXAcUKyRdjk)

_“Our suspect had been planning a murder for years and spent an insane amount of time to perfect it. They decided to perform said murder on Shuuichi Saihara rather than the target they intended to use it on due to the circumstances._

_For the sake of argument, let’s say that our case began a numbers of day back. Our suspect carefully began to steal a number of items from Toujou-san’s lab and altered the numbers to make it look as if nothing suspicious was happening and spent time to create a **Trip Wire Trap** in the woods on the school campus._

_However, the murderer’s plan did not truly begin until the night of **June 29th** , they knew if they were to successfully capture their intended victim they knew they would have to separate them from their friends as they were his constant companions._

_One of the targets they needed to remove was Yuuki Kazehaya, aware of her loving and friendly personality, **the murderer decided to target someone close to her** in order to remove her from the equation. They noted that Rantarou Amami was on dish duty that day and went to the School Store, making him the perfect target._

_Amami-kun spent a couple hours in the store using the Monomono Gatcha in an attempt to win the **Helping Yacchi** , a prize known to help the owner by provide them with a subject to research, for Ouma-kun. When he left the school building, he was attacked! The murder assaulted him with the stolen **Butcher Knife** and Amami-kun attempted to defend himself with the **Melody Pocket Knife** , however, he was disarmed and attacked with the very knife he was trying to defend himself with._

_However, the enchanted knife rejected them, leaving behind a thin layer of **Holy Magic** to slow the bleeding of his injury and the **Holy Magic** would burn the bandages on the murder’s hands, **forcing them take the knife from the scene as it basically melted to their hand.** Amami-kun’s body would be found shortly after by Harukawa-chan and myself. The sounds of my panicking would capture the attention of the Monokubz, who would then carry Amami to the hospital wing.”_

_“Moments after Amami was rushed off, both Momota-kun and myself arrived on the scene. Harukawa-san urged Kazehaya-san to accompany Amami-kun since she could tell she was so concerned, completely unaware that this is **exactly what the murdered wanted.** Momota-kun would then decide to investigate and locate the individual that attacked Amami. Find a trail of blood, the three of us arrived at the woods, again, **this is exactly what the murderer wanted.**_

_The three of us were completely unaware that the murderer was waiting for them in the woods, and once they were close enough to the trap they laid out -- they cut the wire, activating it. Harukawa-san pushed Momota-kun out of the way, severely injuring herself in the process. She landed on top of Momota-kun, who was unable to push her body off of his own to help Saihara when the murderer confronted him._

_However, instead of killing me right then and there, the killer chose to **knock me out instead** and carry my body away from the scene of the crime. The killer most likely abscond from the seen with a garbage bag containing the supplies they stole and made their way to **Hotel Kumasutra.**_

_But, something they didn't account for occured. The victim, Tenko Chabashira, was out for her usual nighttime jogs and she witnessed an unconscious body being carried to the hotel. She immediately got into action to help and confronted the murderer at the hotel. The murderer made a dash for the elevator but Chabashira-san easily caught up to them using Hoshi-kun’s Flash Step._

_But because of the rules of the hotel, **the elevator could not leave the lobby with three people inside it.** This lead to a brawl between Chabashira-san and the murder. I briefly heard the two talking when I groggily regained consciousness, but after smashing my head on the elevator wall in the middle of the brawl, I blacked out once more.”_

_“Chabashira, with her swapped tallent, does not have her usual strength and was unable to properly defend herself. Armed with the Butcher Knife, it’s very likely that Chabashira was **stabbed to death** by the murder and with two living people in the elevator, it was able to leave the lobby._

_Arriving on the third floor, the murderer pulled half of Chabashira’s body out of the elevator to prevent the doors from closing and returning to the lobby. Now forced to deal with a completely different victim, the murderer used the supplies in the hotel room they reserved to to tie Saihara up and left him on the bed._

_This is the moment the murderer proceeded to remove the **Melody Pocket Knife** from their hand, revealing the damage the enchanted knife has done and they **left behind the bandages.** Regardless, the killer returned to the elevator to move Chabashira’s body. One of the potted plants from the hallway was moved to keep the elevator open._

_In order to avoid getting blood on the hotel room carpet, Chabashira’s body was laid out on trash bags and dragged into the suite. The killer then spent time draining blood from the body before **carefully dismembering it and storing each part inside an individual trash bag**._

_With the first phase of the murder complete, next came the clean up portion. Using the stolen bleach, the murder cleaned up the hall and elevator first, giving it the **heavily bleached smell** that both Kazehaya and Momota would pick up on the following day._

_The bathroom and the tools were cleaned with the bleach as well, but not clean enough as the tub had a pale ring of blood. The killer most likely figured they could take care of that once they return to the room with a fresh bottle of bleach but they had to get rid of the bottle they currently had._

_So, they began to clean the bottle out using vinegar and citrus, common household items used to remove the smell of bleach. However, they made a hell of a mistake. Mixing those two ingredients in a bottle of bleach created mustard gas. Is shock of what they created, the murder stumbled and knocked the bottle off the counter. They attempted to catch it, only for it to spill it over their hands._

_ **This severely burned their hands, forcing the murder to bandage their hands once more.** _

_They then disguised themselves as Chabashira, the murder left the hotel, with the bags containing Chabashira’s remains, to begin their endeavor to confuse us about the time of death. This would be the third and final phase of their plan, however, the murder would be unaware that Kazehaya’s lab was occupied at the time and thus **someone would witness them walking on the campus.**_

_This final step came with multiple parts. First, they got rid of the empty bottle of bleach by tossing it in the bin behind the school, assuming it would be picked up in the morning or simply overlooked and stowed the body parts here for a brief time. They then returned to the dorm to **remove the outside vent grate** from the building, then entered through the doors to give the illusion of Chabashira returning to her dorm._

_**The killer then left the dorms using the vent in Chabashira’s room** and recovered the bags that contained Chabashira’s body parts. And they began the final step of their plan. With the bags in hand they then hid the victim’s body parts to a series of pre-chosen spots. The first one to be hidden was the head and due to the darkness, they had no idea they dropped **Chabashira’s choker. That would become a fatal flaw.**_

_The murderer then snuck into the school building to retrieve yet another bottle of bleach from Toujou’s lab and attempt to return to **Love Suite 02** to kill their intended victim, only to discover that the elevator would not work if there was only one person inside. They were forced to give up on that endeavor.”_

“And that is the truth of this case, right?

 **Super High School Level Archaeologist, Sakiyo Shinguuji!** ”

**COMPLETE!**

* * *

 

“Fuck you.” Sakiyo hisses through her teeth, in response to the theory Shuuichi, Ryouma and myself presented. She keeps chanting ‘fuck you’ again and again, glaring each and everyone of us with contempt as she clutched her body in a strange tight embrace. . Even when cornered like this, when all of her secrets has been exposed, she refuses to give up.

This anger and resilience is kinda amazing. . . but she’s so disgusting. To purposely hinder his own brother’s health and rehabilitation, to plot his death, to care so little about another’s life. . .she’s a fucking piece of shit. She can go fuck herself for all I care.

“. . .She’s a fuckin’ mess, aint she?” Miu mutters out loud, her jaw clenched and her hands firmly placed on her hips. Sakiyo sends her a look of disgust and hatred. . . . It’s not surprising that Miu immediately shriveled up.

“Hey, hey! If you're gonna fight, do it after the vote!” Monokuma shouts. Damn it. I would love to jump that bitch right here, right now. But fine. I’ll sure as FUCK give her a piece of my mind once this shit is over and done with.

“IT’S VOTING TIME!”


	30. {02} Trial {03} { CHAPTER END }

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thus ends chapter 2; time for another mini-hiatus to pre-write a huge chunk of chapter 3, in the meantime if you have any questions or comments id love to answer them!!!

**CLASS TRIAL**

**VOTING TIME**

“IT’S VOTING TIME!”

I force myself to tear my eyes away Sakiyo and to the screen on my podium. The evidence compiled through out the case vanishes to show the voting screen -- an eighteen square grid of all the students -- like before, the deceased individuals have their faces grayed out and crossed out with red ‘X’s that matched the style of the ones on their portraits. . . 

Like a complete goddamn fool, I look up for a moment to see Sakiyo glaring at me with utter disgust. Furrowing my brows, I look her dead in the eyes as I jab my finger against the picture of her face on the touch screen. Glancing back down to the screen, I noticed there was another difference from before.

With the reveal of Sakiyo’s identity, her photo on the grid changed to show her actual face. Regardless, by selecting her as my vote, a stylized photo of her appeared to take up the right half of the touch screen and a red banner bearing her name in uppercase English covers the lower half of the screen.

Once I confirm my vote, the eighteen panels flip over to reveal their dark red backsides and the words ‘ **PLEASE WAIT** ’ in lighter red text. And after several long moments, the panels flip over once more to reveal the image of Monokuma’s smiling face that holds up a card that states ‘ **ANNOUNCEMENT** ’.

“Alright! Let’s see the results!” Monokuma cackles. On cue, a giant screen TV lowers from above, hanging over his throne. The screen lights up in an instant, flashing the worlds ‘RESULTS’ for a moment before showing us a 9x2 table that contained all the students. . .

Under Sakiyo’s name was thirteen red notches. . . and one under my name. I tactfully raised a double middle finger at Sakiyo -- not playing much attention as her stylized image and fanfare play out on the screen. Fuck this bitch.

**RESULTS**

Sakiyo Shinguuji

[ **\- Voting Slots -** ](https://youtu.be/b4i5A4AfanQ)

While we have unanimously voted for her, we have to wait for Monokuma to confirm or deny our vote. So the giant TV screen turns off and Monokuma does through the usual teasing, wondering out loud if we made the right decision or not.

The floor in the center of the podium opens up for the three sided roulette with everyone’s pixelated faces to rise up from the ground and like before -- the images of the deceased are grayed out. With everything in place, the golden double ring begins to spins around and around before slowly coming to a complete stop and turning a bright red hue on Sakiyo’s image.

Monokuma’s digital face in the center of each roulette is replaced with Sakiyo’s pixelated likeness and her podium no longer glows the calming cyan color we shared, but a vicious bright bloody red.

**VERDIT**

S H I N G U U J I

The voting machines loudly blares its glorious fanfare, launching an onslaught of confetti into the air and coins start to shoot out of the machine, firing various amounts at the students. The cubs begin to go around the courtroom, handing out their glossy papers that graded us on our ability and participation in the trials. Monosuke was only begrudgingly doing this compared to his siblings.

**CLASS TRIAL**

**ALL RISE!**

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“Thaaaaat’s right! You all guessed correctly! Tenko Chabashira’s murderer is none other than Sakiyo Shinguuji! Man! What a plot twist!” Monokuma cackles.

“. . .We managed to survive this time too. . .” Ouma mumbles, his fingers dig into the railing of the podium and his jaw clenches. He’s clearly feeling some sympathy for Korekiyo. The real Korekiyo. The one we never met. I can't help but wonder, what kind of person was he? Was the personality Sakiyo presented even close to the real person or her interpretation of her brother?

Before I could dwell any longer on this thought, Himiko’s voice pierces my thoughts. To everyone’s utter surprise, she barreled over to the murder of her friend and begins to franticly shake her before grabbing Sakiyo by the front of her pajamas and yanked her down to her height. “How can you even justify yourself?!” She demands.

“I don't have to.” She states in a flat, deadly tone. She glares down on all of us as if we are nothing more than insignificant bugs to her.

“You’re horrible!” Himiko screams, shaking her fists in utter rage. “You’re so selfish! Your brother. . .I don't know what kind of person he is. . .but he loves you! And you don't even care! And Tenko. . . .! Tenko didn't deserve to die! She had so much more to live for!”

“Who gives a shit!” Sakiyo screeches. “Who cares about either of them?! Any of you?! **_I_ ** have so much to live for! I have my own dreams to obtain! I refuse to die in this shithole! I WANT TO BE ME AGAIN!”

“Shut the fuck up.” I hiss. “How you're acting is pitiful. Do you expect us to turn a blind eye or act as if we’re not disgusted with you? What you did was fucked up and cruel!” I give her a thumbs down and motion my thumb across my neck. “Your desire to be you again is sympathetic as best but that doesn’t excuse a damn thing you did! I can assure you Dante will be sending you to rehab with Sugawara Delta. He’s gonna have a field day with your nasty ass!”

“So your true colors come out.” She sneers. My brows furrow in return. The longer she stands here the more pissed off I’m becoming. Part of me can't believe I’m actually wishing the ‘Korekiyo’ personality was here, but you know what, eve if it was a bit odd at time. It’s much more preferable compared to what we got now.

“No, bitch, are you blind?!” I demand. “I’m not talking to you as a preacher but as one person to another. My dad taught me to give respect where it’s due and you lost all of it. You’re a little bitch so I’m treating you like one.”

[ **\- The Picture Scroll of Executions Past and Present -** ](https://youtu.be/JxHn9D3rmy4)

“Now give me my goddamn knife back.” I demand, holding my hand out to accept the item. . . and perhaps I should have seen this coming after antagonizing her so much during this trial. . . but I didn’t. Not until it happened. It came as a sudden sharp pain piercing my side. A gasp of air escapes between clenched teeth.

“But of course.” She smiles, twisting the knife in my side. Well, even if it’s a knife blessed with **Holy Magic** , it’s still a fucking knife at the end of the day.

                               “Yuuki!”

                                                                                                                                                  “Onee-chan!”

“Kazehaya-san!”

                                           “Kazehaya!”

                                                                                                                                                                  “Kazehaya-san!”       

 

Voices cry out to me. Crimson blood begins to pollute both my pajamas and robe but, I couldn’t give a shit. I yank the knife from my side, letting it clatter to the ground and proceed slam my bloody fist into Sakiyo’s smug face. She cries out, tethering backwards. Her hands come up to touch her face, as if she can't believe I just crunched her nose under my fist.

“You. . .” She begins, slowly her body shakes and her voice takes on a deadly tone. “YOU BITCH!!” She jumps for me. Despite the fact her hands are in no condition to fight. She just. . . She doesn't care. Her own anger is leaving her blind to the pain she feels by fighting back. She grabs at my veil, trying to tear it off my head, and grabs at my short hair under it.

“YOU PIECE OF SHIT!! HOW DARE YOU!!” I quickly bring up my knee, slamming it right into her stomach. She hisses in pain, stumbling back a few steps before jumping for me once more.

Fuck this bitch. Fuck her and her self centered ways. I get it. I get people having issues with their families and dropping them. I’m sure Sheryl has done the same for me but I wouldn’t drop her. I don’t have that in me when she misunderstands so much but our situation is drastically different from Sakiyo and Korekiyo’s. He’s someone sick, possibly _dying_ , and she just hates him for simply living and is purposely hurting him when he clearly loves her.

It’s disgusting as hell.

I grab a handful of her long hair as she violently digs her nails into the skin of my face. I’m kinda impressed with how sharp they were. With those bandages, I expected them to be a bit dull. No matter, I yank her head back by her hair, forcing her to pull away and raise a hand to slap her across the face. . .

**GAME OVER**

Shinguuji-san has been decided as guilty.

Commencing punishment.

Two screens drop from above to join the one from before, and in unison the three screens activate to display a blue pixelated version of Sakiyo and myself fighting. Monokuma walks onto the screen from the right hand side and starts to drag Sakiyo away -- her little pixel kicking and screaming -- while our pixelated selves watch from a distance away.

Before I could strike, a collar suddenly shot out of nowhere and clamped around her neck. It looked much like the one used on Toujou but instead of a tin wire attached to it, a heavy chain was in its place.

Sakiyo’s face shuffled through a few expressions -- shock and fear being the most prominent -- before settling on rage. She tried to reach out to me one last time, maybe in an attempt to drag me into her execution, but she failed to grab me. I glared back at her as she was dragged away, my brows furrowed and my body in a pose that proved I was still ready to attack. Furious, she screams out.

“KAZEHAYAAAAAA!!!”

Dragged off to the upper portion of the courtroom, the ceiling closes off to is and the TV footage was black as sounds of construction work filtered out the speakers. Exhausted, my legs finally gave out and  people came rushing to my side, asking if I was fine. I tiredly wave them off to focus on the TV screen instead.

A single light shines down from above on Sakiyo, showing that she was inside an old decrepit room composed of with rotting wood and crumbling stone. The end of the chain that attached to her collar was wrapped around a rather large stone. She sat on the dirty ground with a furious expression before she jumped up to her feet and started to struggle on the chain around her neck.

The camera pans out to show a crumbled pagoda surrounded by various construction equipment and the TV proceeds displaying a title card of the execution.

**PUNISHMENT IN PROGRESS**

**The Pagoda of Past and Present**

Super High School Level Archaeologist

Sakiyo Shinguuji Execution Exhibition

The camera shifts the scene inside the building once more to show that Monosuke was talking to Sakiyo with some papers in his paws. He pushes his glasses into place and she she bears her teeth to him in a snarl. . . but rather suddenly -- with absolutely no warning -- he explodes. However, because he was standing so close to her, Sakiyo was within the range of the explosion. Her skin is burnt, she’s bleeding from various wounds and her clothes are in tatters but she doesn't care.

This explosion has also given her freedom. Although a chain and collar is still attached to her, she run. Up the stairs and to the to the surface level of the pagoda. The hardwood floor has been replaced with new fresh wood and four walls have been erected. . . but there is no door.

Instead there is a single staircase that leads higher up. Clenching her teeth and ignoring her injuries, Sakiyo choses to runs up the staircase. She runs and run, never stopping as the cubs continue to built upwards --  erecting walls and more steps to the stairs -- and perhaps, if she stopped to notice that, she would have noticed how dangerous this towers was at this point.

It had no stability. It was doomed to collapse. But her desire to escape, to live as herself once again left her blind. Reaching the top of the stairs, she throws open the hatch that leads to the very top of the pagoda and . . .

The crisp air brushes against her skin. It hurts just a bit given her injuries but she doesn’t mind it. It’s all proof that she’s survived. That she’s alive. She looks around in awe, taking in the sight of the world bathed in the sunlight as leaves dance in the air.

. . . She sees the outside world. It’s beautiful. So beautiful. Soon, she’ll be able to join that works once more. . .

One step forward onto the shingles that cover the curved roof top is met with an long uneasy creak. Shingles shatter under her feet like glass, stabbing the bottom of her feet. She clenches her teeth and looks out to the scene surrounding her.

So close.

So close.

Sweat travels down the side of her head as she struggles to make a decision. In the end, she decides to run. She refuses to die. Not here. Not now. Not ever. Bold, but perhaps, stupid. She only manages to make a few steps before the roofing falls apart under her feet.

A scream escapes her as she plunges down, the sky she desperately reached out for becoming smaller and smaller until she smashes through the base floor and she finds herself where she began her escape. She lays on the floor in agony, her limbs broken and crooked, for what feels like an eternity before the three remaining cubs peer over the edge of the hole she’s created.

Seconds later, the chute to a cement mixer is placed at the edge of the hole. Sakiyo’s eyes widen with a realization. Monodam and Monophanie are given the job of making sure the concrete makes it into the hole as Monokid stars the machine up. In vain, Sakiyo tries to fight against her fate. She tries to stand, fight, struggle. Anything to reach the staircase and climb back to the first floor once more. . .

She wants to live. _She wants to live._ **_She wants to live!_** There’s so much in the world she’s yet to see. To understand.

But her attempts are utterly futile. As this settles in, she screams out every name of every person she despies as she’s eventually consumed by the concrete. One last time, her hand reaches out to the sky to grab that light she’s urned for. . .

All but her hand is buried as the cubs remove the concrete mixer and it’s chute from the scene. They begin to repair the base floor of the pagoda before rapidly build upwards once more, this time remembering to place the floors between each level.

In a matter of what seems to be seconds, the black painted pagoda with red tiles erected and is completed with a red finial, decorated with the face of Monokuma.

Thus ends the life of Sakiyo Shinguuji, the **Super High School Level Archaeologist**. . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

I’m rather certain that I blacked out in the middle of the execution, but as I regain my consciousness, I can feel a warm light brushing against in my side.

“Can't you work faster Ouma?!” Kaito.

“S-Shut up Momota-chan, I’m doing my best! I didn't get a lot of training before shit hit the fan!” Ouma.

“Hey, keep focusing on the injury!” Himiko scolds. “Occupying yourself with too many things at your level is not going to help anyone. Everyone else keep quiet.”

Ah. So he’s healing me. . . Not entirely necessary, but, it’s okay. It gives him a chance to work. With this in mind, I force the usual magical elements that would heal my body when injured to cease any and all work. In an instant, the pain hits me hard and I clench my teeth, hissing between the gaps.

“A-Ah, Kazehaya-san! Don't move!” Hearing Shuuichi’s voice, I crack my eyes open a bit to see his worried face hovering above me.

“Don’t worry, It’s fine. . . I’m fine. . .” I weakly laugh. It feels weird to be honest. Healing without the use of Yggdrasil's blessing to be exact. No matter what injury I obtained, I never used any healing magic on it -- mostly because I didn’t have the ability to heal wounds -- and because of Yggdrasil’s blessing others didn’t need to use magic to heal me.

I feel a hand tighten around my own and it takes a moment to realize that it’s Kaito’s. I manage to smile once more and return his hold. Knowing him, he probably had a ton of questions to ask me about my current condition.

Soon enough, I feel the warmth of Ouma’s spell spread out through my body through my veins to repair any damage done to my body. It seems I underestimated the severity of the stab wound just a bit. Soon enough the warmth faded and the feeling of bleeding came to a stop. Kaito carefully helped me into a sitting position before taking one of my hands and placing the other on my hip to help me back onto my two feet.

Taking a glance around I noticed just about everyone was standing close in a closed circle -- their expressions displayed various tones of worry, concern and annoyance -- but here was one person missing. . . Angie.

“Where’s Yonaga-chan?” I question, using the usual honorifics I would use when I wasn’t under stress. Immediately I’m given several various looks of confusion by the others.

“What?” Kaito questions in a tone of disbelief.

“Yonaga-san is praying at the moment. . .” Gonta offers, sounding a bit distressed over how little he was able to help in the previous situation.

“Yonaga,” Ryouma calls. Finishing up her prayer, the girl in question climbs up to her feet and approaches the shorter male. Despite the tension she’s created, she simply hums, swaying in place. “What was up with you entering Kazehaya’s lab after hours?”

“Oooh. But there’s no rule to visiting _labs_ after nighttime! Only school facilities are locked!” Angie exclaims, pressing her hands on her cheeks in mock shock. “Angie just wanted to know why she has so many followers!” I couldn't help but squint my eyes.

“. . . What?” Does she seriously think my relationships with others are forged in order to preach to people.

“Kazehaya preaches for a Goddess of Hope, and yet, by selfishly striving to give everyone hope in escaping here, so many have died! Angie simply does not understand how can people follow her!”

_OH MY GOD_

“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don't see them as my followers but my friends?” I respond as if this is the most obvious thing in the world. It also makes me sound like a complete ass. Maybe it's the curt tone but I just, cannot understand how she reached that conclusion. Is she just that oblivious to how much I actually care for everyone?

“But don't you understand?” She questions holding her hands above her head. “Your greedy thoughts and ambitions will do no one any good! If you choose to keep them, it will only mean the demise of us all!”

“It’s not greedy to want to leave a dangerous environment nor is it to work together to achieve such a goal.” I counter, furrowing my brows “If we ignore the motives Monokuma is trying to feed us, we’ll be fine.”

[ **\- Almost Hell Heaven -** ](https://youtu.be/rz9CvJDnv5k)

“Ah, about that, I’m opposed to that.” Ryouma suddenly states. My expression freezes and he continues as if he never noticed it. “I want to see if there’s anyone outside waiting for me. I need a reason to live.”

“Two things,” I quickly begin. “One, all the other videos are locked in a safe.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that. It’s in your room.”

“I don't have the password for it. Hell, I didn't even know I _had_ a safe in my room until recently.”

“Break it.” He simply replies, a dark look on his face.

“I can't do that.” I mumble, uncomfortably playing with the edge of my veil. “The rules say it’s forbidden to break things.”

“Oh, but you can slice a door open?” He questions, raising a brow.

“I’m. . . pretty sure the Love Hotel runs on a different set of rules. . .” I sigh, awkward scratching my cheek. “But, ya know, that’s besides the point. The state of the outside world. . . is not the best, it’s improving, but we have no way to confirm or deny if anything in those motive videos are true. It’s more of a false hope to believe in them and I can't do that to anyone. If you need a reason to live, why not . . . **your friends**?”

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/8SRl9ntd8pw)

“I don't have any.” He states without skipping a beat.

“I donno about that.” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips. “I mean, I think of you as a friend?”

“I-I do as well!” Shuuichi adds.

“I don’t really _get_ depression and stuff. . .” Kaito begins rather awkwardly. “But, you saved Shuuichi and Kiriri likes ya! You’re a pretty alright dude! I’d like to know more about ya!”

“Well, he’s not bad.” Miu mumbles, playing with her hair. “But, ya promised to help test some inventions, so, you can't be depressed all the time!” To the end of her statement, her voice picked up it’s usual enthusiasm. “I’ll make you something so good it’ll knock the socks right off ya! Kyahaha!”

“Gonta likes to spend time with Hoshi-kun!” Gonta beams. “Hoshi-kun is a good friend! He always listens to what's on Gonta’s mind!” Ryouma looked like he wanted to die or something as the others added their own words of encouragement to the conversation. He tried to reach for his beanie once more, only to recall we’re all in our PJs still.

“I still think it’s a bad idea to associate with a guy like me. . .but, I guess I can try. . .” I smile in return.

“Alright! Now that’s what I wanna hear!” I take a look around the courtroom once more, this time noticing that Monokuma and his cubs are gone. “Ah, did Monokuma fuck off? I never got a chance to ask when we will get our talents back.”

“He said tomorrow morning. . .” Kiibo mumbles. Off to the side, Ouma mumbles a simple ‘oh thank god’ but Kiibo looks. . . rather disheartened over that but it makes perfect sense. By tomorrow, he will become a robot once more. While that is who he is, he probably enjoyed being human, even for a short time.

“Then, I’ll make you the best dinner possible!” I grin. A hint of a smile appears on Kiibo’s face.

“I would like that. . .” Wit that said, I approach Sakiyo’s podium to remove the Devilman from the screen. It takes a tug or two but I’m able to remove it and sheath the blade once more. And so, we make our way back to the freight elevator. Once we step inside, Amami passes me my knife. Out of habit, I flip it open and close a few times, watching the way the engraving of my true surname glints in the dim lights on the elevator.

“I’ll clean it before giving it to you again.” I explain as I eventually flip it close, tucking it away in my purse. Amami blinks. With an awkward chuckle, he shakes his head.

“I don't think I should hold onto something so precious to you. . .” I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

“Shut up. It’s safe in your hands. I trust you with it, I’ll just enchant it so it can't be used to stab those deemed ‘pure’.” His expression was as awkward and conflicting as ever as he conceded. I puffed my cheeks out a bit. “Oh c'mon, stop being so hard on yourself. I donno what happened in the past but treating yourself like shit isn’t gonna help anyone.” But all he does is laugh awkwardly and all _that_ does is leave me concerned. This is clearly connected to his family. What happened to Amami and his family for him to have so little faith in himself when people believe in him?

The jolting of the elevator as it came to a stop on the surface level takes me out of my thoughts. A number of people hurry out of the elevator in order to properly prepare for the day but a few remain in the Altar of Judgment. Like Kiibo. Strangely he’s looking a bit flustered. He plays with his fingers for several moments, as if he’s debating something, before suddenly lunging forward and into Shuuichi’s face.

“I’m very sorry but I wish to do this before I lose my nerve or become a robot again!!! I’m very sorry!!!” With that blurred out, Kiibo leans forward with incredible speed and presses his lips to Shuuichi’s cheek. Shuuichi’s face slowly turns a dark shade of red, he’s utterly speechless and Kiibo takes off running as fast as he could move.

Kaito gives Shuuichi a thumbs up although.

Thanks Kaito.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- With the Stars and Us (Piano Version) -** ](https://youtu.be/C5YilgLUG6M)

With a grunt I turn the lever and the cooler door opens, letting cold air filter out around the three of us. I roll the tray out and I’m greeted with the sight of Sakiyo’s remains. The cubs removed her from her concrete grave but chips and pieces of concrete remained on her body. I furrow my brows with a frown on my face.

“BITCH.” I finally utter in a cutting tone. To my left Himiko nods her head in agreement but Ouma raises a brow to my right.

“I thought you said to respect the dead.” He questions, crossing his arms.

“I call a bitch when I see one.” I grunt. Himiko waves her hand, removing the concrete from Sakiyo’s body and moves it to the side for the time being. Presenting Himiko with Yuuki’s diary, she begins to work drawing the magic circle on the floor once more. “Alright, Ouma, get Tenko’s and Sakiyo’s urns from the shelf along with some ihais and a shit load of chopsticks.” I instruct. He raises a brow but doesn’t question my demands.

Returning to our work, I point to the body in order to get the sewing scissors to get to work on cutting the black pajamas from Sakiyo’s body. The task was quickly completed and the vinyl measuring tape begins to take her measurements in order to create her funeral kimono. I move over to the cooler containing Tenko’s remains and roll the tray out.

. . . There’s a body on the tray, covered in a white cloth. Lifting it up I find all of Tenko’s limbs neatly arranged . . . and that her body is stark naked. Alright. I guess that's on me. It should have been a fair assumption given all her clothes were found at the scene of the crime but I didn't dare think of that. I twirl my fingers in the air, calling the surgical needle and suture threads to my side.

Using my index and middle finger, I motion for the sheet to float up in the air, blocking anyone from seeing Tenko’s body from one angle. Making a cutting motion with fingers, two more duplicates of the sheet appear and settle themselves in a position where Tenko’s body is shielded from all sides. The needle skillfully stitches the ends of her neck back together and works its way downwards.

Stepping away from the coolers I join Ouma at the work table, where he carefully placed the items I requested. Once I placed six one ten coin beside each urn, I then took a moment to glance the urns. Tenko’s urn was painted with blue and green colors that give it an appearance of a swirling hurricane and decorated with a white floral pattern.

. . . Then there was Sakiyo’s. Despite our MonoPads updating her profile to accommodate the new information we’ve obtained, her urn still looked the same as when I first found it weeks ago. The design and kanji for Korekiyo remained on the urn.

. .  . That was one of the many things that drove her over the edge. . . The very fact she ‘lost’ herself and that she no longer could separate herself without having so much of him threaded through her life.

With a sigh, my hand gently runs over the surface of the urn, changing the kanji to match her given name and alter the design. It had the same military green color but a white paint was used to depict a number of historical buildings from around the world. I smile a little at my work.

“If she’s such a bitch why do you care about preparing a cremation for her?” Ouma suddenly asks. Placing Sakiyo’s urn down, I look back to him with a tired expression and cross my arms.

“Because if you don’t properly prepare the dead they get fucking pissed.” I explain with a sigh. “A proper burial is a necessity to make sure the soul properly passes on. If that isn’t done the soul can become filled with negative feelings and haunt the living. . .” With a sigh, I reluctantly add: And because I pity her.

“Pity her?!” Himiko demands. She jumps up to her feet and shoots me a look that blends anger and betrayal. “How could you pity her?! Because of her Tenko is-!!”

“I know,” I reply cutting her off. “But because I pity her doesn’t mean I’m looking over what she did. She was a garbage person and did shitty things. But she’s pitiable because of the fact that at a young age she had to take up the role of adult and that caused a strain on her relationship with her brother but the fact she _willingly_ took up his identity at one point in time proves she cared for him. . .” I let out a sigh, looking back to the young woman’s body.

“Unfortunately, in doing that act, she was forced to give up who _she_ was. She became resentful because she could no longer do what she wanted or do the things she liked because she wasn’t ‘Sakiyo Shinguuji’. She was now ‘Korekiyo Shinguuji’ and that's all she could be. It’s. . . It’s incredibly unfortunate that they never got the chance to talk these things out and it all amounted to this.”

“She’s still a piece of shit.” Ouma tactfully comments.

“Oh yeah.”  I’m never gonna deny that.

 

* * *

 

_We gather here today to remember an incredible wild flower that could never be controlled. She was a passionate young woman that was learning to open her heart to others._

_Tenko Chabashira will be dearly missed._

 

* * *

 

_We gather to bid farewell to a young woman we never truly knew. She was an unfortunate soul that was forced to grow older than she should have and lost her way. . ._

_Sakiyo Shinguuji will be dearly missed._

 

* * *

 

**CHAPTER TWO:**

**ALMOST** **HELL** **HEAVEN**

**CLEARED**

 

**Students Still Alive:**

**13**

 

* * *

  

**MEMENTO GAINED!**

**Onee-sama's Lipstick  
  
** A memento of Sakiyo Shinguuji.  
A tube of red lipstick she applied everyday to keep her individuality.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Sakiyo. Her appearing instead of Korekiyo was inspired by a piece of fanart that was like ‘korekiyos sister in his place’ and I was like shit lets do this.
> 
> http://sexviolenceandvideogames.tumblr.com/post/167534249166/what-if-korekiyo-is-dead-and-it-was-sister-all  
> https://78.media.tumblr.com/a087c7b90ae20d6e2e5ecff48ce4ee80/tumblr_ozhh4hD6We1r8sm9no1_500.png
> 
> Personally, I’m a very avid believer in canon that Korekiyo was abuse victim and groomed by his sister but she never was attached to him in that way [ i mean, cmon, she salts his soul which is basically the biggest fuck you to the soul as it destroys it forever ]. I’ve removed the incest all together tho in my story -- cause i aint touchin that w a ten ft pole -- so she’s just a huge bitch that's pitiful, but a bitch nonetheless. 
> 
> Korekiyo’s condition and strained relationship with his sister, however, is also used in the Chat/Multicultural AU I write with Kaden, so y’all get a special preview of the boy. 
> 
> Sakiyo's name is written as 真宮寺 紗清 | Shinguuji Sakiyo; Her name shares the kanji '清' with Korekiyo, which means pure, purity, cleanse or exorcise. While '紗' means gauze or gossamer. In this case, I went with gossamer -- which is a fine, filmy substance consisting of cobwebs spun by small spiders -- to reference how she feels trapped in a web.


	31. INTERLUDE #02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> got a jorb and a lot of other sweet things happened so life got busy, so in response to this delay i wanted to release this interlude early
> 
> Kuuro also made some sweet fanart  
> https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/421021791620825091/442152463609626634/jesus_said_chill.png  
> its beautiful  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kuuro-tan

* * *

**  
** INTERLUDE #02

* * *

[ **  
\- Backside of the TV ( Lotus Juice Remix ) -** ](https://youtu.be/-p2faub_rbI)

  
“Whaaaaat?” The young man inside the phonebooth groans, rolling his eyes. “What the hell makes you think I want a damn thing from you fucks? I’m giving you this information because we have the same goal in mind.”

A pause. The phone is passed and someone else answers it. A voice that reminds him of a friend from another world. He withholds the urge to laugh as the guy asks him a question.

“Why don't I take care of it? Because I can't obviously.” He scoffs. “If I could deal with this all myself, I wouldn't be here contacting you guys. And might I remind you, you all have targets painted on your backs. You need the help of someone like me to reach our shared objective.” He lets out a sigh, sticking his finger in his ear as the voice on the other line questions if they should trust them.

He supposes he can't blame them. As he previously pointed out, **they _are_ on the hit list of that shitty organization after all.** But Christ. Pacifying people isn't his job. It’s his job to kill abnormalities before they completely fuck up the timeline or space itself and shit like that.

He glances to the bandages wrapped around his hand and grimaces. Well, there’s one abnormality he can't deal with. . . That’s Melody’s Job. . . Then again, the cycle of **Hope** and **D** **e** **spair** is eternal. At the best she can make him sleep. . .  But no matter what, it’s her duel.

“Look, if it’s _any_ consolation. Yuuki Kazehaya, she’s my friend, and everything I do, is for her sake. . .” The phone is passed off once more, or perhaps yanked out of the man’s hand and taken by the woman once more and she begins to ask more questions from the other line of the phone.

The young man sighs, tapping his finger against the green box of the payphone, and his looks through the glass of the phonebooth to a nearby store. The electronics store setup the LED screens to make a gigantic TV wall that displayed the Killing Game.

“Yeah. _That_ Yukki Kazehaya. The one that vanished from Hope’s Peak Academy’s Class 77-B. . .” He muses, watching the crowd that gather in front of the store, watching in awe and amazement as Melody and her detective boyfriend just exposed that Sakiyo Shinguuji was living in place of her brother and that was irrefutable proof that she was the killer, along with the fact that a few stray words was enough to incriminate her.

Melody’s memory is amazing when it wants to cooperate with her.

“. .  .Gotta talk about it huh?” The young man responds, rolls his eyes. He turns back to the phone and lets out another sigh.. “Fine. I get it.” A beat passes. “ . . . What the fuck do you mean it’s impossible to be her?” Another heavy pause. He raises a brow and gives the phone a skeptical look. “Do you _seriously_ think she’s _human_ ? Have you _seen_ the footage? And of course she doesn't age properly!”

The young man sighs to himself. He knows that her **blessing** works in weirds ways and she’s gone off to referred to it as a curse as she got older but he damn well knows she’s nineteen at the moment. Regardless, it’s hard to believe that anyone she’s previously met on this world hasn’t used common sense to realize that she isn't a human.

“Look, we don't have time to argue over how this shit works over the phone. We’re all on strict time limits here otherwise everything we both have worked for will be pointless. It’s in everyone’s best interests if we meet up."

He’d also get an earful from Melody and he really doesn't have time for that shit.  


* * *

  
“Remember, XX,XX.”  
  


* * *

  
With the phone call over, the young man hangs up the phone and exits the booth. In truth, he was a strange looking man -- shaggy, unkempt black hair, icy blue eyes with bags under them -- but perhaps he fit in with such a shady world. A world that hosts the murder of innocent people as entertainment.

Huffing to himself, he pulls up the hood of his military green jacket obscuring his face as he walks down the sidewalk. Some people are talking about the show on the TV wall with excited, delusional eyes filled with madness.

“Oh my gosh! I just realized what happened. . .!”

“What are you talking about. . .?”

“When Kazehaya screamed when she found Harukawa’s body, she really did have a vision!”

“Whaaat? No way!”

“But that’s the only thing that makes sense! It was like Chapter Two rebooted out of nowhere! And remember, Saihara was the first victim to be found but because of what she saw, she prevented that future from happening!”

“Oh man! That’s so wild!”

“What a twist. . .!

But, just as there were people who looked utterly terrified. Some would shuffle past the screens as quickly as they could. Some would stare at the screen, their eyes wide and mouths open with horror.

“I can't believe this. . .”

“Why would she do that to her own brother?!”

“I just don't understand. . .”

. . .Well, to be frank, he would fit in appearance wise but he’s matured since then . . . Still, he can't help but wonder if Minazuki was still here, would he be like the depraved people that take such joy in this show?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u kno me and my writing, the young man is Sho Minazuki. Appearing in Persona 4 Arena, he was unfortunately infected by the Crawling Chaos himself, he's gained some crazy magic and works as Kazehaya's foil in her work for The Council after finding his humanity and making bonds with other people. He serves as one of the two individuals assigned to be Kazehaya's bodyguards.


	32. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {01}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whats up everybody its mina  
> its 4th of july a reasonable excuse to slide this out  
> edit: fuck thank yall to the ppl that left me nice messages and supported me, i really appreciate it!!!

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -  
** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncYEjxBw_7g)

“Do you remember?”

A filipino young man questions as he follows his partner as she walked around the room. The young woman pauses to examine one of the pods. The glass is frosted over but. . .she can make a vague figure out. Messy hair that curled and they seemed to have a short stature judging my the position of the body.

“The thing you’re looking for is-”

“Yeah, I know.”

The young woman hums to herself before attempting to check the digital clipboard attached to the pod . . . But a quick examination pointed out that nothing useful was written on it. The data was scrambled. . . But why would it be scrambled before she and her companions arrived? There's no way anyone would have known beforehand they would come here.

Was it the Magic. . .?

The person in this pod certainly had magic and someone else here did as well.

How odd. . . People of this world shouldn’t have magic.

This world lacked it all together. . .

“‘S in the school somewhere. . .”

She finally comments placing the clipboard back where she found it. She glances around the room, wondering where the second magic based signal is coming from as her companion continues to speak. But the vision is becoming blurred, and soon there's only darkness and distant voices.

“It’s a core component to the project you need to complete to save your friends.

 **We only have a limited amount of time before our Superiors find us**.”

“Don't worry Mallari-san,

I’ll find **███ ████ ██ ███████  ███████████.** ”

 

* * *

**CHAPTER THERE:**

**TRANSFER** **STUDENT OF THE** **DEAD**

**(Un)Ordinary Days**

* * *

 

 

EDIT PLAYERS

       SELECT PLAYER

              >>PLAYER 01  
  
. . .

PLAYER 01

>>AKAMATSU KAEDE

           >>SELECT PHASE

                    PHASE 01              >>PHASE 02

  
. . .

PLAYER 01

>>AKAMATSU KAEDE

         >>PHASE 02

         EDIT        >>DELETE         RETURN

  
. . .

  
PHASE 02 DELETED

 

* * *

**July 2nd; Day 13**

* * *

 

I awaken and I’m immediately hit with too many thoughts. Yesterday. . . What a day that was. . .

The truth about Shinguuji came to light. The young man turned out to be a young woman living in the role of her brother but because of a number of circumstances she became spiteful to him and plotted his murder. . . she ended up kidnapping Shuuichi with the intention to murder him but ended up killing Tenko instead and the body was hidden using the method that she would have used to disposed her brother’s body had her murder scheme succeeded in killing a victim and escaped this academy to kill him personally.

She was exposed as the killer . . . and executed. . . She also stabbed me with my own fucking knife but I don't really care for that. Kiibo kissed Shuuichi on the cheek and ran off, not to reveal himself until dinner. Where we also hosted a birthday party for Ryouma, who looked like he wanted to drop dead or something.

. . .It was the last day with our new talents. . . by this morning, everyone should have regained what their proper talents.

With a sigh, I ran my hand through my long hair. Trying to sort out what that dream was, I began to braid long strands of my white hair. I couldn’t brush it off as a dream or simply a vision. I’m pretty sure it was trying to get a point across . . . but what? What was it trying to tell me?

I know I have a mission and an objective to be here and I’m certain that was related to it but. . . what was that objective? **Why am I here?**

. . .Actually, where is **here** anyway? I've pondered this before but it was always brief and fleeting, but, **I wasn't kidnapped and brought here like everyone else was**. It makes perfect sense that they wouldn't have any idea where they were. . .but, **I came here**. So why can't I figure out where we are?

I know I stupidly smashed into a wall while I was being chased when I first arrived at the campus. . . That was how Ryouma and Gonta caught up to me in the first place, but have my memories about this mission really become that scrambled. . .?

On top of that, where is Mel or Sho for that matter? Ever since it came to light I was going to duel the **Crawling Chaos** , The Council made sure I had a bodyguard -- either Sho or Mel -- at my side while I worked. However, there is no trace of their magic anywhere.

[ **\- Saturn { Instrumental } -  
** ](https://youtu.be/R-m7zi66ddc)

“. . . Melody-san?” I’m suddenly pulled from my thoughts by Shuuichi’s soft tired voice. Blinking, I turned my head to the other half of my bed, where Shuuichi layed. The sheets were pulled to his shoulders and his hair was a mess as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.

I swoon, clutching my chest in a dramatic fashion. Why is my boyfriend so fucking cute?

“H-Huh? Are you okay?!” He scrambles to sit up, looking a bit more alert. I quickly grab him by the collar of his shirt and smash out lips together. A muffled squeak escapes him, thrilling me all the more but I quickly pull back to simply press another kiss to his cheek and then rest my forehead against his shoulder.

“You’re so cute. . .” I mumble. Shuuichi blinks, his expression held confusion thanks my words. I wrap my arms around him, holding him close. After moments of hesitation, he returns the gesture and gently wraps his arms around my body. A few quiet moments pass and Shuuichi ends up drifting asleep once more with soft, gentle breathing. I carefully lower him back to the bed and kiss his forehead before climbing out my bed to begin the prep-work for the day.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Okami Title Theme -  
** ](https://youtu.be/pkQGe9A1A28)

No one really knows why Monosuke suddenly exploded in the middle of Sakiyo’s execution. Surprisingly, even Monokuma was baffled by this development. Regardless, Monophanie put in a request that I cremate her brother once more. The remains of his body was delivered to my lab this morning and I took care to cremate what I could and placed what couldn't into a yellow urn with brown tiger stripes. His urn was placed alongside Monotaro’s with his little glasses on display.

With that take care of, I then moved onto changing the daily offerings as usual. In addition to adding Sakiyo and Tenko’s urns to the altar -- their momentos being the former’s leather mask and tube of red lipstick and Tenko’s choker -- I added photos and mementos of my brother and Hibiki -- their momentos were his MP3 Player he left to me in his will and Hibiki's old faded pink ribbon -- to the altar as well.

They were two important people to me so it didn't feel weird to keep photo of them. . .  the others would probably question it. . . but I don’t really care for that.

My brother was a young man with messy dark blue hair that hung over the right side of his face and he had dull gray eyes. The framed photo of him displayed one of his rare smiles that held genuine joy behind it. Unfortunately, on the other hand, Hibiki’s photo was awkward; given the circumstances, I didn't own an appropriate photo of her. Only a few photos from the culture festival. It wasn't much, but it was enough to have a reminder of an old friend.

Tearing my gaze from the photos st the alter I glanced around the building with a concerned expression. Truthfully, after learning Angie broke into my Talent Lab, I was a bit concerned she tampered with these photos and various other objects . . . but thankfully, after an intense examination -- which more or less consisted of me combing every square inch of my lab -- I noted that nothing was tampered with.

. . .That didn't comfort me in the slightest.

In fact, it made me incredibly uncomfortable. If she didn't _take_ anything, **what was the point behind her breaking into my lab?** Was she genuinely curious about my connections to others?

I. . I really don't get her. . .

**[\- Almost Hell Heaven -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGEsvstuVM) **

“Oh, you're just going to stand there and not even cry? Isn't that cruel of you Yumeno-chan?”

“It’s none of your business Ouma.”

Unfortunately, the folding paper screen served as a thin wall between a conversation that played out between Ouma and Himiko. A scene I had no business overhearing the moment I stepped out my office and back into the mall hall of the shrine.

“But you’re lyyyying~!” Ouma’s tone has the usual cheer to it that I’ve become accustomed to. That filled me with a sense of relief to know he was back to normal.

“It’s great to see you're back to normal.” . . . I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not although.

“Don't try to change the subject Yumeno-chan.” Ouma’s voice is cutting, almost like he was personally being insulted. “I hate liars more than anything else in the world.”

“More than your brother?” Why would she ask for that? That was a dark and unnecessary question.

“. . . _That_ is one exception.” He speaks in a low voice. God. I can practically imagine his expression. A dark shadow on his face and a huge twisted smile splitting across his face. “You shouldn't lie to yourself. You haven’t said much since Chabashira-chan’s funeral. All this time you’ve been holding back!” And his voice tampers off into something soft and sympathetic. “What’s the point in any of that? Didn’t you say you were going to carry on her last wish?”

“Because. . . Because what right do I have to be upset. . .?” That. . . That was a rather unexpected response. Himiko is trying to deny her feelings again. . . because she doesn't feel like she has the _right_ to be upset?

“The _right_ to be upset?!” Ouma bursts out laughing before suddenly giving Himiko a blank expression.

**[\- Moon on the Water -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yofsOSx6Y94) **

  
“Don't say something so stupid.”

“S-Stupid?! It’s not stupid!” Himiko refutes. She clenches her fists, an uncomfortable expression on her face. “. . . Monokuma was right.” She mumbles.

“Oh, so you're going to let that bear dictate how you feel?” Ouma sighs, checking his nails.

“I don't want to!” Himiko fires back, her brows furrowed. “But. . .! But he’s right and I hate it! I’m upset that she’s gone . . .! But. . .! But I could never show her my appreciation for the good she did! Even if she came off strong, I know she really _did_ care but I would just brush her off because she was just too much for me!” The annoyance and anger in her voice tampers off into soft grief and heartbreak as tears began to roll down her cheeks once more and she crumbles to her knees. “B-But I wanted to spend more time with her! I wanted. . . I wanted. . .!”

“Then keep her in your heart. . .” Ouma replies in a soft voice. “Remember and honor her by living to complete the promise you made to her. She made that request, fully aware that you were struggling to connect to others. She isn't mad that she couldn't reach your heart. All she ever wanted was your happiness. So reach it, for her sake.”

And with Ouma’s words, Himiko’s tears fall faster than before with loud ugly wailing. The tears that fell down her face were tears of emotion. Anger, regret, sadness, heartbreak and love. . . at the very least, she didn't shed tears of submission.

Knowing her, she would try to push forward and fight. . . And that’s all I could hope for.

 

* * *

 

**[\- Cool Morning -  
](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiNSu24BNGQ) **

I went for a more American style breakfast this morning; eggs, pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage and toast. Thankfully, everyone seemed to enjoy what I prepared and joyously conversed among each other as they eat.

Arranged seating was more or less gone at this point so Gonta happily took this as an invitation to sit down next to Ryouma and chatter away about various subjects. To an untrained eye it would seem like Ryouma wasn't paying attention, but he was. The way his lip twitched into a smile or the glances he sent Gonta’s way said enough.

Miu and Ikiko said next to each other, with Kiibo sitting across from them at the table. The two young women seemed to be working on some invention, Miu referring to the notes in Ikiko’s notebook as they worked. Kiibo unfortunately looked. . . . disconnected from things. Most likely disappointed to become a robot once more.

I still can't help but ponder how this all worked. . . How could a robot suddenly become human and vice versa. . .? I’ve never heard of such magic before . . . and I’m kinda doubtful it exists but I don't know jack about **Forbidden Magic**.

Angie quickly finished her plate and skedaddle off as quickly as she came, not bothering to say much beyond a simple hello or goodbye. Was she that concerned about how I could connect to others. . .? Jesus. And I thought reading Ouma was complicated. . .

And what was the first time in a week, Maki came to the dining hall to join us for a meal but Kaito immediately pulled her to the end of the table where we sat -- we composed of Shuuichi, Amami, Himiko and myself -- ignoring her complains of ‘I’m not Harumaki’ as usual.

. . .As for Ouma, he sat by himself at the other end of the table. It was his attempt to re-enforce his bad guy aura. . . but I’m pretty sure no one is going to buy it anymore. Regardless, to see him distance himself after everything was kinda . . . sad. . .

A sudden banging sound snaps me back to reality. It was Miu slamming a screwdriver down on the the surface of the table as she breaks out into happy cackles.

“All-fuckin’-right!” Miu booms, a huge grin splitting across her face. She then plops whatever she was working on in front of me. It was some sort of slim metal device with a small screen that could easily fit in my hands. I look back at her in confusion.

“What?” Was all I could intelligently say. Miu lets out a huff, placing a hand on her hip and pointing to the object with her other one.

“Ya stupid or something? It’s the device you ordered. It can check the changes in the air and detect chemicals! I used Ikiko’s schematics and improved on them.” I dumbly blink. After Sakiyo was apprehended I didn't think much about the Mustard Gas scare. . . I don't know how useful this will be, but for all I know she could have left some Mustard Gas bombs around. She was petty enough.

“Alright, thank you. . .Both of you.” The two respond rather sheepishly. Ikiko shyly plays with her hands, trying to assure me she didn't do any major,  and Miu blushes before her usual grin takes it place.

“Hell fucking **_YEAH_** you’re welcome!” She cackles, spit flying around.

. . . Disgusting.

“Hey! Why don't we visit Harumaki’s lab and then take that thing for a spin around the school?” Kaito questions, a big ol grin on his face. I find myself blushing as I gazed back at him and with an awkward laugh I scratched my cheek.

“Shouldn't we ask her first. . .?”

“It's fine.” Maki sighs deeply. “It’s properly prepared now so it’s safe for visitors.”

. . .

[ **\- My Home, Sweet Home ~ World Mix ~ -** ](https://youtu.be/C-RGAq8WIk0)

“I didn’t invite all of you.” She bristles as she takes in the sea of people visiting her lab. To be honest, she looked way more flustered than being legitimately upset.

While she awkwardly tugged at one of her ponytails I noticed she had set up only a few snacks and drinks set up at a table. It was. . . It was kinda cute actually. Despite her job of being an assassin, she still clung to the skill sets she used to help raise children. Maybe, just a bit, it helped bring a sense of normalcy to her life?

“Huh, this is so different from what I imagined. . .” Ouma comments, disappointment in his voice. Kaito raises a brow.

“What _did_ you imagine?” He questions.

“Weapons obviously.” Ouma grins. “There’s no way someone as scary as Harukawa-chan could really take care of children! She isn't the kind to put heart into it! I bet she encourages kids to torment the smaller weaker ones!”

. . . so himself?

“I don’t do that.” She curtly replies. “Hierarchies of children hounding and harassing others is the kind of shit I don’t allow when I’m taking care of them. You must have been raised in a shitty orphanage.” Ouma’s response was only a blank expression. I’m pretty sure he was pissed off although. Miu on the other hand, fucking howled with laughter, but she was swiftly silenced with a couple of crude insults from him.

. . .Still, Ouma looked around the room with doubts clear on his face. It didn't exactly help that Shuuichi was looking around as well but we -- Maki and myself -- made sure there weren't any sort of discrepancies that make the room look too out of place or too strange. Which, I am reluctant to admit, was a bit of a challenge given what we had but I’m pretty sure we pulled it off.

“Hey, where’d you get these pictures from?” Kaito questions, pointing to the art hanging on the chain link fence that once displayed an assortment of weapons. The drawings were rather simplistic, at least as simplistic as a child could get.

“Kazehaya.” Maki sighs. She glances to the side for a moment and then back to him. “She apparently keeps art from her kids on her person.”

“If you really think I don’t keep mementos of my clan members on me, you are sorely mistaken.” I counter with a laugh. However, Kaito’s question of who was in the pictures pulled my attention back to him.

“This is your dog, Koromaru, right?” He asks, pointing at the crude drawing of the Shiba Inu. Seeing me nod my head he then drags his finger across the paper to the other dog depicted on it -- a black and white Boston Terrier.

“That’s Iggy!” I say with a huge grin on my face. “He’s an asshole.”

“He can’t be that bad.”

“He’s the worse.” I deadpan. “He hates pretty much every human he’s ever met but he seems chill with me and my kids. . . but he’s still an asshole.” Kaito looked like he had further questions to make but. . .he didn't bother to follow through with them.

“So is this a kemonomimi?” He questions pointing to the vague illustration of Jack. Jack was the exiled prince, now king of Nevgelo, and he was a handsome, muscular man. . . but he did stand out in a crowd thanks to some natural features of his people. Those being wolf features; fangs, ears and tails.

“In theory I guess,” I uselessly shrug. “The royal family and a large number of the nobles of Nevgelo can shift into wolves. . .Then there are some nobles that are fairies--”

“W-Wait, hold up on that thought for one moment.” Kaito sputters. “Wolves?! They can transform?!” A beat passes before he leans in to whisper: “Does that make them. . . ya know. . . furries?”

“FURRIES?!” I shriek and all eyes turn to us. I throw my arms into the air and with flushed cheeks Kaito tries to make me quiet down. “He turns into a literal wolf! Not something. . . something _sexy_!”

“S-Sexy?! Furries aren’t sexy!”

“The whole point of furries is to _be sexy_!” I counter argue. “How can you call your own husband a furry Kaito!”

“Husband?!”

“I _married_ him!!” I shout, throwing my arms up in the air. Thankfully a distraction arrives in the shape of Ouma.

“The fuck you doing?” Miu questions as she catches Ouma fold a sheet of paper and shove it, in presumably a pocket inside his shirt. He narrows his eyes, not looking away from her for a moment before simply saying: Bitch. Miu’s back curls and she lets out an ertoic moan. Ouma makes a rather disgusted face, as usual, but quickly takes the opportunity to escape from Maki’s Talent Lab.

Part of me wanted to pursue him, but, it was just a copy of one of my children’s drawings. I still had the original. . . but there was another reason I didn’t follow. A stupid black-and-white bear related reason.

[   
**\- Mr. Monokuma's Lesson V3 -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbHe3BGP4l0)

  
“Oh, I see you’re missing some of your classmates!” Monokuma beams. “Has someone already gotten an itch to kill?” Thankfully the fuck is stuck standing outside the lab door and unable to enter thanks to the charm I previously left on the door. He isn't exactly complaining though.  
  
“Ouma literally just ran by.” I deadpan. “And Angie ran off as soon as she finished her breakfast.”

“That’s it. . .? How boring. . .” Monokuma bemoans. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Gonta suddenly shouts for everyone to get behind him and few do scramble to use him as a shield. However, Monokuma does nothing expect glance around the room with curiosity.  “Oooh! What a nice room! This is quite the update!”

“Why are you here?” Maki sharply questions, giving Monokuma a rather threatening look but he doesn't seem offended by it. . . but definitely upset seeing how he was rejected so quickly.

“I just wanted to inform you that the **Cultural Festival has been delayed. . .** ” Oh shit. Right. That was A Thing.

“. . .Delayed?” Ikiko repeats.

“Yeah the dead bodies and stuff got in the way. . .” Monokuma sighs. “The festival will take place on **July 6th to July 8th** instead. And since two of the four that were supposed to be on the Play Team is. . . ya’know, dead. . . The remaining two have to organize a play that requires two people. . .”

“Isn’t two people too few?” Kaito questions.

“Nope!” Monokuma beams. “There are plenty of plays done by two people or even one! But that’s not what’s important here! For surviving once more, I have some excellent prizes for you! Monokubz, assemble!”

**  
[\- Good Bearning! -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIs46teItaQ) **

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

 

"A beary good morning to you~!" The remaining three three cubs arrive on the scene.

“PR3S3NT-TH3-R3W4RDS!” Monodam exclaims. And Monophanie and Monokid pull out an item out of seemingly nowhere. . . . a hammer and a scroll, for whatever reason. Despite the oddity of the items, and being the one to give them to his kids in the first place, Monokuma blinks, quizzically tilts his head.

“Huh? Weren’t you supposed to have three rewards?”

“TH3-TH1RD-R3W4RD-W4S-ST0L3N.” Monodam reports.

“Stolen?” Monokuma looks as baffled as ever.

“ST0L3N.” The green cub repeats.

“It was that artist bitch!” Monokid snarls, lifting the Ninja Scroll above his head and waving it around like it was his guitar. . . He even throws it to the ground. . . but makes no move to pick it up. He just leaves it on the floor in favor of pulling out his actual guitar. “She knocked over Monodam, took the key from him and unlocked the door to the fourth floor!”

“How rude!” Monokuma huffs.

“Yeah. . .the **Golden Hammer** , **Magic Key** and **Ninja Scroll** were supposed to come together in a big set . . .” Monophanie bemoans. 

“Why. . .?” I question. Why would Angie purposely knock over one of these bears and steal from it?

“. . .P3RH4PS-H3R-G0D-1NF0RM3D-H3R-L4B-1S-L0C4T3D-0N-TH3-F0RTH-FL00R.” Monodam offers. I squint my eyes.

“A possibility.” I mumble.

“But she left us with nothing but junk. . .” Kiibo murmurs

“Well, if it has a meaning, it’s not really junk.” Shuuichi offers. Kiibo supplies no sort of response. Instead, he sweats awkwardly. Monodam gives him a good long look before questioning if there’s a problem. Shuuichi tenses up. “N-No! Not at all! K-Kiibo-kun just needs a bit of maintenance!”

“. . .1-S33. . .1-H0P3-H3-G3TS-TH3-H3LP-H3-N33DS. 1N-TH3-M34NT1M3-PL34S3-US3-TH3S3-1T3MS -4ND-W0RK-T0G3TH3R-T0-F1ND-N3W-4R34S-1N-TH3-SCH00L.” With that said, Monophanie tosses the Golden Hammer at Shuuichi and like before he fumbles to catch it. On the other hand, Monokid simply kicks the scroll over to his feet. And with that said, the three cubs take their leave with their usual:

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

“Why would Angie-san take the key by herself. . . ?” Kiibo ponders out loud.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was because ‘Atua’ told her too.” Amami sighs, placing his hands on his hips.

“That sounds about right. . .” I sigh. “She did say she broke into my lab after hours to wait for Sakiyo to emerge from the dorm’s vent. . .”

“All because ‘Atua’ told her to. . .” Shuuichi adds.

“Can she fuckin’ hear any gods or is that **Thing?** ” Miu questions.

“. . .Uh, **Thing?** ” Kaito questions.

“Nyah, she’s referring to the mass of **Chaos Magic** on the campus.” Himiko explains, lifting a finger in the air. “It’s still in hiding. . . It hasn't shown itself since that first trial. . .”

“Then. . .are you really certain it’s still on the campus?” Ikiko cautiously ventures.

“It’s here for sure. To be honest, I felt its presents as soon as Toujou-san was walking me to her room, on the day I first ended up here. . . Even Yumeno-chan could sense it back then. . . but ever since the first trial its chose to blanket itself across the campus entirely.” I explain, shaking my head with a sigh.

“And in doing do it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact location, right?” Amami questions. With yet another sigh, I reluctantly nod my head.

“It’s clearly in hiding and I’m pretty sure it has something to do with that **Day of Reckoning** Monokuma was talking about. . .”

“ **Day of Reckoning?** ” Shuuichi repeats, utterly baffled. . . .Oh fuck. We forgot to discuss that didn't we. . .

“Fuck, my bad, I forgot to mention that. . .” I admit sheepishly.

“Monokuma took a flashback light when we found it while we were exploring the school last time.” Amami explains as he crosses his arms over his chest. “ **He said we don't need our memories. As long as we survive until the Reckoning, that’s all that matters to him.** ”

“Why the hell would be do that? Place those things but suddenly say their useless? That doesn’t make any sense!” Kaito exclaims.

“I have a theory but I’m not throwing it on the table until I got something to back it up.” I explain with a rather serious tone. A smile quickly replaces my face. “Anyway, since the fourth floor is open, we should start scouting out there.”

“I suppose so. . .” Shuuichi nods. A grin splits across Kaito’s face, he wraps an arm around Shuuichi’s shoulder and gives him a hearty pat.

“Alright, let’s do our best! We’ll be countin’ on the two of you!”

“If you find something dangerous, call Gonta!” Gonta beams. “Gonta will be your shield!” I make an awkward laughing sound in response. We exit Maki’s Lab and around the corner was a peculiar door once stood. It once looked like the door you would see to a dungeon or a castle fortress in a JRPG. However, the door was no longer there. . . instead there was a dim hallway with dark red and blue ties that lead to a staircase.

“The door collapsed. . .” Shuuichi observes. “How did we not hear it. . .?”

“I don't like it.” Ryouma simply comments. “Yonaga has been acting weird. . . Breaking into Kazehaya’s lab, knocking over one of those cubs and stealing from it?”

“. . .Yeah, I’m concerned about that too. . .” Shuuichi softly admits.

“These stairs have a real strange feeling to them. . .” Ikiko mumbles, gazing on the stairs with . . . a strangely interested look. Surprisingly, she was the first to head up the stairs with a spring in her step.  Miu mumbles something under her breath before grabbing Kiibo by his arm.

“Yeah, well you guys do that, I gotta check Kiibles out.”

“Kiibles?” I repeat, dumbfounded by the name.

“It’s fuckin’cute!” She snarls, almost looking offended that I would question her.

“Honestly, I was expecting a dick joke.” I deadpan.

“KYAAHAHA!! GOTTA KEEP YA ON YOUR TOES!!!” She howls, dragging the very obviously reluctant Kiibo behind her.

“At least it will be quiet.” Maki mumbles under her breath as she heads up the staircase as well. Her words were met agreement from a few other that followed after her upstairs, leaving myself, Shuuichi, Kaito and Amami. . . . However, Shuuichi looked a bit downtrodden.

“Hey, Shuuichi-kun, are you alright?” I question, taking his hand into my own and giving it a squeeze. Blinking, he looks to me, then our intertwined hands and blushes.

“Ah. . . S-Sorry. . .” He mumbles. “I have a lot of things on mind. . .

“It’s about Kiibo ignoring you, right?” Amami presses.

“Ignoring Shuuichi?” Kaito questions. “Why the hell would he do that? Did he just kiss him the other day?”

“Y-Yes. . . but when I tried to talk to him about that at Hoshi-kun’s party, he denied that ever happened.” Shuuichi explains, his voice soft and his expression pained. Sympathetically, I pull him into a hug and rub his shoulder. Well, I guess in a way that explains why Kiibo just froze up when Shuuichi was talking to him. It’s like. . . He’s embarrassed by the fact _he_ kissed him?

“I’ll talk to him, alright? Don't worry about it, I’m sure he’s more embarrassed about it than anything. . .”

“Embarrassed. . .? Why would he be embarrassed?” Shuuichi questions, looking baffled by my suggestion.

“Well, confessing to someone is hard to do. . . but he has no idea how you feel and he’s probably afraid of rejection like anyone else. . . It’s fine, you didn't do anything wrong. Let’s head up stairs.”

“A-Ah, alright. . .”


	33. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {02}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when ya adhd and busy w jorb that u forget to update ur own damn work

[ **\- Spirits and Sentiment and Splendor -  
** ](https://youtu.be/2w1UKDi6plA)

The fourth floor looked like hell. More accurately, like a decrepit hallway in some haunted house or an abandoned house. There's no visible source of light -- making it incredibly hard to navigate around here-- the wooden floorboards are old and creak with the right amount of pressure and the walls were aged and crumbling, paint peeling and mold on the wall.

“Oh CHRIST,” I sweat “What the hell is going on here?”

“This is some creepy ambience. . .” Kaito shivers. He immediately, offers his arm to me. I kinda stare at it. He  couldn't have been more obvious about how terrified he is. I open my mouth to say something to him, but I find myself interrupted. . .

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/JIs46teItaQ)

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

. . .in the form of annoying bears. . .

“Oh Fuck. Not again.” I groan. However, my protests go deaf on their ears.

“You know, there’s a legend that a brutal murder was carried out here.” Monophanie beams. My face shifted uncomfortably. She’s just saying that to freak us out. . . and judging by the way Kaito is currently clinging to me, it’s working. . . However, it doesnt seem she has much more to say. In fact, she’s sweating nervously.

. . .She didn't even plan this story out. She just took the opportunity to bring it up but has no idea what to say. Monokid mutters ‘bitch’ under his breath and the three bears hastily leave.

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

  
“Jesus Christ.” I mutter.

“This _is_ a school, right?” Amami suddenly questions. I turn to him, raising my brow in confusion. He sighs placing his hands on his hips. “Just, with each floor we find, the appearance and atmosphere changes. So far, this floor doesn't seem like it fits in a school at all.”

“That’s true. . .” Shuuichi nods. “In addition, wouldnt it take such a huge amount of labor and money to fund this kind of building in the first place? Not to mention our research labs, which are full of state of the art equipment to help expand our talents. . . This place really is like a school. . . but how does it even exist?”

[ **\- Rise of the Ultimate -** ](https://youtu.be/zSHvUG5W7kE)

“ **Betting rings.** ” I sigh, crossing my arms. Everything seems to stop for the four of us. Amami puts on a dangerous but thoughtful expression, Kaito looks utterly horrified at my suggestion and Shuuichi seems to be debating the idea.

“Kiriri. . .you can't be serious! People can't honestly be watching us and . . . and betting who will win and who will die! T-That insane!”

“ **Cash cow. Merchandise.** Aren't those weird words to associate with the situation we’re in?” I question.

“And yet, Monosuke and Monokuma used those phrases during the phase where we didn't want participate in this killing game at all.” Amami mumbles. He brings a hand to his mouth and narrows his eyes. “But. . . wouldn't those phrases apply to more of a TV Series or something. . .?”

“Either way, it’s entertainment. . .” I grunt. “and someone is making money off our suffering, and they’ll probably plan to use that money to make a new season of this shit unless we end it once and for all. . .”

“Kazehaya-san. . . is the reason why you suggested a **betting ring** . . .” Shuuichi softly begins, his voice tinted with a grim realization. “. . . **was because that’s what happened to your student, the** **_real_ ** **Yuuki Kazehaya?** ”

“. . .Yeah, that would be correct. . .” I sigh. “She and fourteen other talented young adults -- and one poor kid that was an unfortunate witness to a crime -- were kidnapped and placed on a cruise ship in the middle of the sea. A margay -- which was a fusion of magic and science -- said they were to participate in a Killing Game and would give them motives to encourage this.”

“That’s just like us. . .” Kaito mumbles, furrowing his brows. “What happened to the real Kazehaya then?”

“She’s dead.” I say in a soft voice. “Her journals were delivered to me by a friend of her’s. A friend she sacrificed her life for. . .”

“So. . . she was a victim. . .”  Amami poses the question. I uncomfortably dig my nails into my arm and slowly shake my head.

“Yuuki. . . Yuuki wouldn't have ever harmed anyone under normal circumstances. She was too nice. She always reached out to others and she embodied my teachings. . . I chose her to be my **Sage** , my heir, for a those reasons. . . In truth, that reason was most likely why she was targeted in the first place. . . The person running that Killing Game called her ‘ **Perfect Sage** ’ and only someone with a wealth of knowledge about magic would ever use that title.”

“So, for her, it was a setup?” Shuuichi questions. I don't know. I’ll never know. Not anytime soon. The information on that entire incident is sealed away in Forbidden Section of The Council’s library as it’s too early for me to understand what happened. I despise that. She’s my student. I inspired her to keep living and I became an important figure in her life. Don't I have some right to see what happened to her and why?

“I. . .I strongly believe it was.” I admit with a heavy sigh. “I’m not all seeing, nor am I all knowing. . . Just, one day, one of the survivors came to my house and delivered Yuuki’s dairy to me. . . He didn't know who I was. If I had to guess, he just assumed I was apart of the church she preached for. . . unaware she was the only one who preached in my name. . .

“That young man was the one Yuuki died for. . . With her death, he began to write down everything that happened to them in her journals to continue her efforts to record everything. Apparently, some point into their captivity they noticed a certain person was contacting Monoko -- the ‘captain’ of the ship -- frequently and as a result she she was eventually placed in isolation. . . but they all realized why far too late.

“This person had a severe case of schizophrenia and she was purposely being denied her medication. Her isolation and lack of medication lead to her falling to her own delusions and going on a murder rampage to take down any girls she deemed to ‘get in the way’ of her romantic pursuits. . .

“She killed two girls before finding the target of her affections, the young man Yuuki befriend, and kidnapped him. . . Yuuki was delivering food to girl when she found the bodies of the other two chosen to watch over the isolated girl and discovered her friend was kidnapped. . .”

“She tried to reason with her, but she didn't listen.” I sigh. “She was becoming more and more delusional. . . to a point where she decided she had to kill the boy she loved and herself for them to be together. Yuuki still tried, but it didn't work and she was attacked. . Yuuki attacked in self defence, but. . . that ended up killing the attacker.”

“Holy shit. . .Kiriri. . .That’s terrible. . . but did she really. . . did she really have to do that. . .?” Kaito questions. The more time I spend with him, he clearer that it becomes that Kaito values all life. Even the lives of those who have taken from others. He believes so much in the good of others and that redemption is always possible for others . . . A guy like him would have done wonders for Jack and Shinjiro. . .

“Give the fact that the killer-victim was denied her medication for so long, she may have been a lost cause to reason with in an agitated and delusional state.” Amami suggests.

“Yes, having a woman trying to reason with her may have made her angry and label her as a threat to her ‘romantic pursuits’.” Shuuichi adds

“To my understanding, that's exactly what happened and unfortunately, much like in our situation, self defence still counts as a murder so when it came to the trial, Yuuki was forced to encourage her friend to prove to those who wanted to deny this truth that she _was_ the killer. . . and then, she was executed. . .”  I trail off forlornly before furrowing my brows. “She didn't deserve that, but hell, none of them did even if a few were assholes. . . They didn't deserve that, and neither did none of the kids before them.”

“None of the kids before them. . .” Amami repeats, narrowing his good eye. That’s right. . .  That phrase would most definitely bother him as he’s participated in a Killing Game before. . . but. . . that makes things a bit odd. . . To be frank it’s completely bizarre how so many of the events we were facing paralleled **what happened years ago on my homeworld. . . .**

The variation of Earth I live on is incredibly unique. When people sleep, they can see into other worlds and by perceiving what they have witnessed as dreams, people create all sorts of media in response. In essence, my Earth is composed of seers and they’re not even aware of it.

So, if my hunch was right, that would mean someone witnessed the events of this world and made . . . something out of it. Whatever it was, someone took it and based their own Killing Game around it. . . Ugh. The thought of it was completely fucked up. . . why would anyone do this shit?

“Yeah, well, I hope whoever pulled this shit off ends up in jail. . .” Kaito sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “Maybe they’re in desperate need of help. . . if they’re an asshole though. . .” There’s a pause as he pounds his fists together, a furious expression on his face. “I’d like to punch them right in their smug face!” A smile makes it way to my face and I laugh a bit.

“The feeling is mutual. . .”

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Spirits and Sentiment and Splendor -** ](https://youtu.be/2w1UKDi6plA)

  
The inevitability that came in losing Kaito, Shuuichi and Amami . . . inevitably happened. . . 

Kaito let out a terrifying screech when we saw the ghostly forms of the deceased Monokubz casually floating around in the halls and ran off in terror. . . I then unfortunately lost both Amami and Shuuichi. . . leading me to stumble upon a shouji style paper door. It was sorely out of place compared to the rest of the floor as it was in perfect mint condition as if it was recently added and without much thought, I reached out for it.

Which was pointless to do as this was clearly a door to a Talent Lab. . . This was a I was about to criticize myself for my actions when I realized the door was not stuck. It was in fact unlocked proven by how it easily slid open. . .

If that was the case, who was the lab for. . .? A shouji door is a decent hint. . . There’s not many people who would have that sort of aesthetic. . . In fact, the only one --  besides me -- to have such an aesthetic. . . is dead. That would be Sakiyo Shinguuji.

. . . Uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, the locked door was open and if this really was Sakiyo’s lab, that would mean someone picked the lock to get in. . . And honestly, I can see Ouma with a lock picking skill set.

So, he stole that illustration and ducked into the first room he found. . . But which drawing was it and why? That’s the question that haunted me the most. What possible reason could there be for Ouma to take any of the art pieces illustrated by one of my children?

Well, I wont figure it out by standing out here. . . And with resolve, I slide the door back and enter the lab, only to be immediately baffled by what I found.

Before me was an entrance hall to a museum -- shiny white tiles and walls and a shiny wooden desk that stood in front of a hallway that was labeled with thick black lettering which pointed out which objects of historical significance were on what floor.

Passing through the hallway brought me to a larger room filled with glass cases that displayed various items, each labeled with golden plaquets that explained the significance of the items. To the back of the room were two staircases that lead to the floors above. .  . but against the back wall. . . was a single display.

Curiosity overtook me and I approached it to find a single framed photo; a four year old boy beside a girl of eight years standing before two adults. All of them had long black hair and golden-yellow eyes. I didn't need to look at the plaquet to realize this was Sakiyo’s family from a time before it fell apart.

I can't tell if this was a mocking gesture or maybe a jab to remind her of how much her brother loved and relied on her. . . Thankfully, I don't have much time to dwell on this as I hear the sound of paper scraping against the floor and light footsteps.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot a blur of white and black -- Ouma’s scarf -- and turn in the direction of the stairs to catch him in the action of bolting up them. I quickly catch up to him, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, but that quickly proved to be a huge mistake.

“L-Let go of me! Don't touch me!” He shouts, kicking and screaming in a panic. Surprised, I quickly let go of him and knees hit the floor, giving him the opportunity to scramble away as fast as he could. He huddles himself into a corner; clutching his chest, sweat running down the side of his face with heavy breaths as his body trembles.

I can’t help but dumbly stare as he attempts to pull himself together, which is by far the shittiest response anyone could have to what was pretty obviously a panic attack. Perhaps it was my speed or magical aura that caused him to go into a panic. . . despite knowing his brother is not around, the familiarity of being grabbed by someone with such power, speed or magic was enough to send him into a panic.

I honestly can't wait for the day to kick that tool’s ass. . . Destroying the Crawling Chaos’s children will only be an inevitable thing on my journey after all. . .

“Hey, I’m sorry about surprising you.” I say with a gently voice as I slowly lift my hands up to show him I mean no harm and lower myself to sit on a staircase. A smile immediately spread across his face and he was back on his feet, innocently rocking on his heels as if he wasn’t just suffering a breakdown moments ago.

“Nishishi! Did you really think you scared me?” He laughs. I can only raise a brow at him, which makes him laugh a bit more.

Honestly, yes. With the previous motive -- the Talentswap -- it’s become a bit easier to tell his feelings after seeing him fall apart and prove how human he actually is. Just a bit. Ouma. . . He’s a mystery all the same and now that he’s back to normal, he’s got his emotions under a mask once more . . . but I doubt anyone can see him as some fearless badass or something now.

“Why did you take that drawing?” I question instead. Ouma looks to his nails, checking them over with a bored expression.

“Ah, geez, I thought you would ask something smarter than that onee-chan. . .”

“You wouldn't have taken it if it didn’t mean something to you.” I point out. “or unless it was familiar to you.” My tone is firm and serious. Ouma narrows his eyes just a bit and crosses his arms with a huff.

“Maybe you're thinking too hard.” He sighs with a careless tone as he checks his nails once more. “Why would I find anything your children created to be captivating, much less, _familiar_ to me?”

“ **. . . Because you're mother was a Fairy.** ” I answer without hesitation. Ouma looks down on me from the stair he stands on, giving me a rather incredulous look.

“ _A fairy_? What the hell are you talking about?”

“The piece of art you stole was drawn by my daughter Jomei. . . while I was pregnant with her, I was a member of a Magic Guild; Fairy Tail. It’s tradition that the member of a Magic Guild has the symbol of that guild tattooed on them in order to identify them. It’s rather likely she imprinted on that symbol since I was carrying her while I had the tattoo myself.” I explain. “You don't simply _do_ things for shits and giggles. There’s always a reason behind your actions. . . and so, the only logical conclusion I can reach is that your mother had that very same marking on herself and you wanted to understand what it meant, so you stole it.”

“A plausible theory.” He hums. “But, it’s just that! A theory!” He giggles, so pleased and amused with himself. I cross my arms and tap my foot against the ground with a hum. He is right. This is only a theory. . . but, it’s the only thing that makes sense.

Magic doesn't exist on this world. For Ouma to have any, he would have to either be the reincarnation of someone with a strong persisting spirit that used magic. . . or he inherited it from a parent. He’s already explained that the ladder is what his situation is and I know for a fact, rifts have opened up all over all of Time and Space due to the Crawling Chaos’s meddling. . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Home ( Kokyo ) -** ](https://youtu.be/yoHb09Iyqfo)

_“Ten Year Jobs. . .?” I whisper to myself as I look over the jobs pinned to the corkboard. There were a variety of them; however, most seemed to pertain to hunting down rather dangerous and deadly monsters. . . There were some that seemed a bit odd. Like one that was apparently a plea from fairies to remove some odd vortexes from their land. That seems like it would be an easy job. . . why would it take ten years to clean up?_

_“What about them?” A familiar voice questions in my ear as they place their hands on my shoulders. I damn near jump out of my skin, reeling around to be greeted with the sight of a familiar pink haired boy and his faithful blue cat companion with wings. Seeing it was only him and not Luxus, I let out a sigh. Fairy Tail is a really nice and homely place. Everyone in the guild is warm and welcoming. Hell. This is the place that taught Sho the true importance of bonds and relationships with others. . . but I really don't want to see that fuck after he insulted my fiancé. . . but as members of the Guild, we’re bound to run into each other again someday._

_Unfortunately._

_“Jesus, you nearly scared me to death Natsu. . .” I sigh once more, rubbing the back of my neck. Glancing back to the builitant board, I motion to it with a confused expression. “These jobs. Do they that take ten years to complete or . . .?” A grin quickly stretches across his face and he shakes his head as he places his hands on his hips triumphantly._

_“Nah! They’re jobs that no one has completed but have existed for ten years!” I was baffled. How can he sound so excited over the prospect of a quest everyone failed to complete for ten or more years. . ._

_“What? Jesus, no wonder we’re banned from touching them. . .” I mumble in disbelief. I suppose Natsu was rather lucky that Happy didn’t grab one of those missions when he stole one weeks ago. . . Thinking about it, even if the stolen job was_ **_that_ ** _dangerous, he wouldn't have bothered to return it and would have happily taken the job on to make his point._

 _. . . A point he_ **_still_ ** _was unable to make even after the job was completed._

_To be frank, the very fact he broke such an important rule -- a lower ranked Mage stealing and performing a S Rank Job right under the Master’s nose  -- was more or less brushed under the rug as the Master was more concerned with avoiding the Guild War that Phantom Lord was trying to instigate at that point in time._

_“Aye. . . I’m surprised this one has circulated back to us although. . .” Happy murmurs, bring me back to reality. I find him slapping his tiny paws against one of the pinned up sheets of paper.  With a hum, I begin to read it over._

 

**_Ugent!_ **

**_Request from Valley of the Fairies!_ **

**_July 4th, X760_ **

**_The Valley has been plagued with an unknown dark magic for years and our magic can no longer keep it at bay!_ **

**_Things keep getting worse and worse. . .! Our people are vanishing! And those who have contact with this dark magic, but escaped, fall deathly ill! If this dark magic escapes the valley, everyone will be in danger!_ **

******_Please help us!_**

 _“Didn't you say Angel took this one. . .?” Happy ponders, bringing his paw to his mouth as he tilts his head. I dumbly blink. I’ve never heard of anyone in the Guild with such a name before._ . _. That would either mean they were constantly working, like Gildart, currently MIA, or worse, KIA._

_With the way Natsu is, he would deny this Angel person’s death. . . His optimism is great at times, but also incredibly unhealthy._

_“. . .They say whoever takes this job ends up vanishing. . .” Natsu mumbles, crossing his arms with a serious look on his face. “That’s why the job has constantly been in circulation for the last twenty four years. . . but, no matter what, I’m sure Angel is alive. . .” A brilliant smile spreads across his face, radiating nothing but confidence.  
_

 

* * *

[ **\- Sad Past ( Kanashiki Kako ) -** ](https://youtu.be/f00BI5DuxNc)

. . .How disappointing it will be to tell Natsu that Angel is dead. . . by the hands of her own child no less. . .

But that’s another thing to worry about for another day. . . Right now, Ouma is more important. I sit down beside him on the staircase and wrap an arm around his shoulder. At first he flinches but quickly shoots me a strange look. I awkwardly smile back before pulling his body against my own.

“Just for a little bit. . . let me do this. . .” I mumble, my cheeks flushing red just a bit. “I bet. . . It’s hard to deal with or understand how complex things are with your life. . . I bet it was easier when you were younger, when you didn't have to worry about things like this, much less deal with them. . .”

To be honest, even if he’s slapped his usual mask on, I’m still worried about him. All those tears and heartbroken sobs as he spoke of his past were all real and genuine pain he’s stuffed inside himself for years. How much more is he keeping inside? I don't know. . . I may teach him about magic, but I’m not privy to every detail of his life. . . and now that he’s not vulnerable anymore, he’s most likely going to reject us all again.

So, if this is all I can do -- the smallest comfort I can offer -- then, I’ll be glad to offer it to him.

“You . . .” He begins, his voice soft and low. “You said, you were a fairy too, right? Are there more out there. . .?” I blink, surprised he is even asking me these things. Perhaps. . . he trusts me. . . or maybe, he simply wants to know what his mother’s home was like. . . Whatever his reasons are, I am glad he wants to discuss this with me at all.

“It’s another world. . .” I begin with a hint of a smile on my face. “In said world, on the region of Fiore, is Magnolia Town. . . This is where the Guild, Fairy Tail, resides. It’s known to be one of the most strongest guilds in all of Fiore. . . Many of the members I befriended during my membership at the Guild are like you. . .”

Ouma was initially skeptical of my words and with an awkward smile, I explained myself. They weren't anything like him personality wise, but many of their backgrounds were similar to his own.

Many of the members joined as children. Children that lost something they deemed valuable -- like family and friends -- may it be by war or crimes. . . or even demons and cults that believe in those demons. . . or even natural causes in some cases. . . They lost so much and yet, they found their way to Fairy Tail where they began new lives, opened their hearts to others and found a home in each other I explained to him what it was like to be apart of the Guild with a smile on my face. It was loud and chaotic often enough, but everyone was full of love. . . And the insane extents everyone would go for each other when they were in trouble.

Like how we raided the Phantom Lord Guild to avenge the members of our Guild that were cruelly beaten or when the same Guild tried to kidnap Lucy on her father’s request, despite the fact she chose to leave her home of her own volition, only to try and hold her for a ransom. . . or how Sho battled Jellal for the sake of Erza so she wouldn't have to suffer and deal with the blood of someone she loved and was unable to save on her hands.

The way Ouma intently listened made it clear to me, he was trying to compare what he knew about Fairy Tail to his mother. . . But there was no real expression on his face, just a distant look as he tried so hard to piece things together.

“. . . Did they ever mention anything about my mother. . .?” His voice is unusually soft and timid. Well, maybe not unusual, but, it's still something I’m not accustomed to. I let out a sigh, resting my head in the palm of my hand.

“Yes and no,” I reluctantly admit. “She’s been missing from that world for over twenty years and I’m sure most of the older members thought she died. . .but Natsu was pretty certain she was okay. That’s what he told me when I found the paper for the job she took. . .”

“ . . .What was this job?” Ouma wonders, curiosity clear in his voice. “Actually, how did you even find it after so long?”

“Jobs that exist in the system for ten-plus years and have yet to be completed are called Ten Year Jobs. These missions end up cycled throughout multiple guilds over the years in an attempt to get them completed. . .” For a moment, my voice tampers off and I screw my expression into annoyance. “Comparing what I know now, I strongly believe, the reason behind the sickness someone would contract when in contact with the **Cursed Magic** or simply vanishing was actually caused by **Chaos Magic** .” Ouma uncomfortably grits his jaw and clenches his fists closed. “If you were lucky, you would be infected by the **Chaos Magic** , most likely to spread **D** **e** **spair** and have a desire to cause chaos. . .”

“If you’re _lucky_?” He questions, his tone as incredulous as ever. Not that I blame him. To call an outcome like that the better sounds rather insane. . . but unfortunately, it was the better.

“What your mother. . . and my sister received. . . was the worse one off.” I glance off in the distance, my eyes looking over the photo of Sakiyo and her family. “. . .People don't simply vanish from their world. They’re moved. **Rifts** are tears in the very fabric of time and space and they'll fling life anywhere. It’s. . . It’s incredibly rare and uncommon that anyone that falls through a **Rift** will even make it to another world and thus, the usual result of falling into a rift is death, as you will end up floating through space and die. Hopefully, it will be an instantaneous death. . . I’d hate to think someone would end up floating through space and slowly die in the process. . .”

“. . .So my mother fell through a **Rift** while on a job. . . and ended up on this world. . .” It’s not a question aimed at me, it was more like he just needed to repeat this in order to absorb the information and understand it, but I nod my head nevertheless.

“With the context clues, it’s . . . it's the only answer that make sense. . .” Ouma has nothing more to say. He simply sits there, his hands folded in his lap with this empty expression. . . .I honestly think he loved and adored his parents. How he struggled to tell the story of what happened to his family and the origins of his magic proved that to me. . . and this response to what new information I have given only reinforced this.

[ **\- Find A Way ( Cover ) -** ](https://youtu.be/7F6rq3Z-PUk)

“What about your sister?” I dumbly blink, not expecting him to ask about me. I can only sigh, a tired look on my face.

“She vanished one day. . . it wasn't like she packed up her bags and left. Nothing was disturbed, everything was where it belonged. It was like, she . . .she just never was there in a weird way. It wasn't until I met the Crawling Chaos itself did my employers tell me what the actual circumstances were behind her disappearance.”

“Why would they do that to you?”

“. . . I’m pretty sure they avoided telling me the truth as soon as possible to avoid having me run into battle with him head on like a dumbass. Meeting him, I realized that I couldn't beat him. Not at my current strength.”

“. . . That must suck. . . to be defenseless and powerless to stop such an insane power. . .”

“I won’t be for much longer. . .” I whisper. I’m already receiving some intense training, even with magic I wouldn't be trusted to use under normal circumstances but that how dangerous the Crawling Chaos is unfortunately. I have to surpass whatever that bastard has prepared for me. . . no matter what. To protect my family, to make him atone for what he has done to his own children. . . and to the innocent people that didn't deserve to suffer as they have. Like Kokichi Ouma. Had the Crawling Chaos not existed, he wouldn't have lost his parents or be trapped in a web of lies and suffering just to survive.

He could have been _happy_.

He should have been _happy_.

Truly and genuinely _happy_.

The sound of a quiet sniffle brings me out of my thoughts. . . and looking beside me I realize it’s Ouma. His face his in his hands, nails digging into his skin as he tried to stop himself from falling apart but his shoulders shake with sobs. In an automatic motion, I remove my veil in order to drape it over his head. Magic unravels, reverting me back to my true form but, thankfully, he won't be able to see through the veil like I can so he will be blind of these changes.

Nevertheless, he flinches at the initial contact and as he lifts his head to question me, I gently push his head back down and wrap my arms around his body, cradling his body against my own as if he is something precious.  
  
“Cry as much as you want, I can't see you, so don't worry about that.” I say in a soft voice, gently rubbing his forearms. His body shook once more, sobs renewed and louder than before as he didn't bother to muffle himself. I pat his head, cradling him closer and closer, trying to bring him the best comfort I could.

. . . As if he was something precious . . .

I think. . . I think he is just that. . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Spirits and Sentiment and Splendor -** ](https://youtu.be/2w1UKDi6plA)

Much like Melody, Saihara-kun and himself ended up losing track of the others.

Rantarou was thankful he ended up with Saihara however, he _is_ missing one eye and all, the detective seemed . . . a bit more trustworthy. He was more grounded in logic, despite the abnormalities he’s seen thanks to Melody, and wasn’t easily frightened by ghosts. Momota was a supportive guy after all but, despite his girlfriend, he did not handle the supernatural well at all.

Rantarou nearly yelps as he stumbles over an unstable floorboard but Saihara is surprisingly quick to act, wrapping his arms around his waist and helping him stabilize. Rantarou blushes a bit, but whispers a small thank you nonetheless.

“It’s the least I can do after what I’ve done. . .” He mumbles in a low voice. Rantarou blinks in confusion.

“What you’ve done. . .?”

“Your eye,” He motions to his own, his voice sounded a bit miserable. “You're blind in an eye because of me.” Ah. The incident with Sakiyo. She indiscriminately attacked him in order to make a distraction that would keep Melody occupied and thus prevent her from stopping her from kidnapping Saihara.

“You _do_ know I dont blame you for that, right?” Rantarou explains, letting out a sigh as he placed his hands on his hips. “That could have easily been anyone else. She didnt care who she attacked as long as she could get to what she wanted in the end. You’re as much of a victim as I am Saihara-kun.” The hint of a smile appeared on his face. “To be honest, I could care less about my missing eye.” Saihara looked back at him with a confused expression that only made his grin grow wider.

“I-I dont understand. . .” Saihara fumbles, at a complete loss. His confusion and flustered expression only grows as Rantarou gently places a hand on his cheek and Rantarou cannot stop the soft and tender smile that spreads across his face. The feeling of Saihara’s soft silky skin under his calloused palm is a wonderful feeling.  
  
“To put simple, you’re safe and I’m more than content with that. . . ” Rantarou watches Saihara’s lips part with a gasp, his eyes widen and his cheeks flush red as he brushes his thumb along the skin under his eye. “Chabashira-san will be missed. . . but I would have been far more upset if Shinguuji-san’s plan to murder you actually worked out.”

“I-I . . . A-Aren't you coming off a little too strong?” Saihara mumbles. Rantarou blinks for a few moments before withdrawing his hand quietly chuckling behind it.  
  
“I’m sorry,” He apologizes. “. . .But how else am I supposed to tell you I’m interested in you? Melody-san did say being straightforward with you is the best way to express my feelings.” He confesses and he couldn't help the grin that stretched across his freckled face as Saihara’s blush grew worse and worse.

“S-She said that . . . ?” The poor detective fumbles. He seems to be in a completely shocked that he received advice to be so forward from his own girlfriend. In fact, it seemed like he had issues wrapping his head around the fact she was dating Kaito Momota and himself. . . .but, to be quite frank, his confusion made him quite adorable.

“O-Oh look! **A Talent Lab!** ” Saihara suddenly exclaims. Rantarou blinks his one good eye and watches the other male approach the door in question. Like all others, it has a unique design that rings true to the talent its associated with. It was a white double doors splattered with different buckets full of colorful paint.

Saihara reaches for the handle to find the door locked, much to his confusion. No. Confusion isn’t right. This is clearly Angie’s Talent Lab and they know she stole the key that unlocked access to this floor. She would have found her lab before anyone else and being the unique artist she is, she would have locked herself in her lab.

“It’s most likely occupied, perhaps we should come back at a later--”

"Yoohoo~ Who is it?” Angie’s familiar cheerful voice questions. . . However, the moment she looks at the two of them. Her face twitches -- just a bit -- before clasping her hands together. “Oh blessed days! It’s Shuuichi and Rantarou! Greetings!”

Rantarou can’t help but note that she’s clearly uncomfortable with them. . . but why is that? What’s caused this change? Was it perhaps their association with Melody, who was acting as a preacher for another religion that seemed to clash with her own?

Whatever it was Angie pushes it away  and proceeds to invite them into her Talent Lab. . . it was a mess in more than one way.

The room seemed incomplete. . . or maybe someone simply converted a room into an art studio. A gray stone wall splattered with black paint and a number of lights hanging from the beams. The floor was splattered with paint and covered in a variety of artistic tools -- buckets of paint, containers filled with brushes, hamers and harving tools -- and a number of tables were strewn about the room.

Strangely, three furnaces happen to hang from the ceiling for some reason. Tucked in the left corner were canvases of various sizes, neatly folded easels and a pyramid of large wax cylinders. While in the opposite corner was a scaffolding that framed a partially carved hunk of wood.

“What’s with the lock to this room. . .?” Saihara ponders. Rantarou curiously raises a brow. “It’s different from the locks on the other labs. . . Not only that, well, it can be manually locked. None other than Kazehaya-san’s lab can do that. . .” Ah. Saiahra would notice such a detail.

“If I had to guess, its because this room wasnt supposed to be a lab at first.” Rantarou suggests, he motions to the other door in the room, between the scaffold and the pyramid of wax cylinders. Instead of a matching cylinder lock and a doorknob, this door used a sliding lock and a handle. “It’s the only explanation to why the doors would be so drastically different. . .”

“It does not matter.” Angie smiles, clasping her hands together with a great beaming smile. “While bilateral symmetry is a norm of the western beauty, the golden ratio of symmetry and creation is prefered. But Angie thinks an uneven ratio and symmetry is far more beautiful!”

“I don’t. . . I don’t understand but. . . that’s how you feel I guess. . .” Saihara mumbles.

“But why does your lab have the capability to allow you to lock it yourself?”

“That’s easy!” Angie beams. “Atua willed it so! Atua knows that Angie cannot convey his work if there are various people and noises about! Atua gets so embarrassed when other people about!”

“Uh-huh. . .” Rantarou mumbles. Angie supplies no response, she just. . . smiles. . . and honestly, that’s makes him feel even more uncomfortable. She’s trying to act the role of a welcoming host as Saihara asks about things in her lab but she’s anything but that. She’s stiff and awkward - not her usual livelyself - and her answers were both curt and short. Eventually both Rantarou and Saihara leave the lab, and Angie lets out a sigh, placing her hands on her cheeks.

“How troublesome! Such nice boys tainted by that heretic! But, Angie shall fix that, just as Atua has commanded!”

 

* * *

[ **  
\- Spirits and Sentiment and Splendor -** ](https://youtu.be/2w1UKDi6plA)

I’m in no way surprised that Ouma ran off as soon he got the chance. It was bound to happen as he still disliked exposing himself to the world and even if I was the only other person in the world at that point in time, I was still one too many person. . . but the only saving grace was that he left my veil behind. I half expected him to run away with it.

I made my way down the hall to find a single white painted door, needless to say, it stood out the most out of everything I’ve seen so far in this place. Once I was close enough I noticed the detailed curled ink like design on the frame of the door and that alone made it fairly obvious who this lab belonged to. That made me just a bit hesitant to open the door. . . but. . . if I’m going to fix things so they _weren't_ awkward I have to confront the issue head on.

With a sigh, I open the door and immediately take a look around; Ikiko’s Lab turned out to be small compared to the other labs I’ve seen thus far. Honestly, it gave the impression that this room was more of an after though or something.

Still, the room was strangely bright compared to the rest of the floor; shiny new white oak wooden floors, white painted walls decorated with painted light blue roses and potted plants set in the front corners of the room and one on each side of the door. On the left wall was a bookshelf -- which was filled with a variety of calligraphy books and scrapbooks for whatever reason -- and a couch.

A large grid shelf covered the entirety of the back wall -- many cubbys were filled with framed calligraphy pieces made with various inks and tools -- and a number of other random decorative items. In front of the back wall shelf was a white wood desk, a comfortable chair and a decorative wall lamp. The desk itself was rather basic, but the drawers were most likely filled with a variety of tools used for Ikiko’s craft.

[ **\- Ikiko Hekoten -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNfa37go7cE)

A simple reexamination of the room showed me that not only the owner of the lab but Ryouma and Gonta was as well. Ikiko blinks as she notices me before sending an awkward smile my way.

“Kazehaya-chan, hello. . .”

“Hey. . .Hekoten-chan. . .” I’m sure I’m making a weird expression judging by how she was making an awkward expression back at me. Thankfully, Gonta saves my ass with is brilliant beaming smile.

“Hello Kazehaya-san!” He greets while Ryouma simply nods his head. Gonta seems to be sticking to him like glue, which is good. Who doesn’t want a bright ball of sunlight like Gonta in their life?  “Gonta is glad to see Kazehaya-san is okay!”

“Y-Yeah, same. . .” I dumbly mumble. “So you’re here with Hoshi-kun and Hekoten-chan. . .?”

“Yes! Gonta protects his friends! Gonta has no idea what calligraphy is but Hekoten-san’s lab is very pretty!”

“Calligraphy is like fancy and arty handwriting?” I fumble to explain as I shrug my shoulders.

“That's a simple way to explain it.” Ikiko pipes up, folding her hands together. “It’s a bit more complex. . . It’s more of an old piece of history that fuses integrity, rhythm and soul by combining writing and art that involves a handwritten arrangement of symbols in harmony.” I dumbly blink. I knew a friend of mine had an interest in calligraphy but his explanations was far more simpler compared to Ikiko’s, but then again, she’s the best at this talent.

I . . .I should apologize to her. . . At the very least, she deserves an explanation for my weird ass behavior. I swallow a lump in my throat and clench my fists, putting an awkward smile on my face.

[ **\- Tension -  
** ](https://youtu.be/TUxzfcZsJ3o)

“Hekoten-chan. . .” I begin slowly. She nervously fiddles with her fingers but continues to look my way. “I’m sorry for how I’ve behaved. Truthfully. . .It’s your eyes. . .” Ikiko blinks, lighting a hand to her face before realizing her glasses are in the way, causing them to end up smudged. She quickly removes them and pulls a cloth from her suit pocket to clean the lenses.

“I don't understand.” She mumbles, pushing her glasses into place once they were cleaned. “What’s bad about my eyes. . .?”

”They’re gold.” I sigh, clenching my fist once more.

“So are Saihara’s?” Ryouma points out. I want to die as I remember we were not alone. Gonta quietly frets, trying to reason with Ryouma and remind him its rude to but into someone’s conversation but he isnt listening. “I’m just saying it make no sense for her to discriminate against Hekoten for something so trivial but not Saihara.”

“Shuuichi’s eyes are different. . .” I mumbles, my cheeks flushed red with both annoyance and embarrassment. “His have more of a silver tint to it. . .but Hekoten’s are **yellow-gold** and _that’s_ what makes me panic.” In theory. . .Shadows aren’t bad. They’re simply the repressed aspect of a person. The part of themselves they deny. . . but commonly, Shadows have presented a danger to me and my friends so danger is associated with them. . .

. . . Hibiki also had golden eyes when she lost herself. . . Her father also had those eyes. It wouldn't be too weird to think that all of his children had those eyes. It’s only an instinct to be more attentive and weary of them at this point in time. . . “When I saw your eyes, I panicked because the color of yellow-gold has bad associations with creatures and beings I’ve battled before. I don't know if I’m strong enough to beat the creatures associated with it. I know for certain, there’s two I’m nowhere near strong enough to beat. So my problem isn't you, it's . . .the forewarning of what I gotta deal with one day?” Sighing, I ruffle my hair. “I donno how to word it, but my problems isn't you. I panicked, realized I messed up but my anxious ass was like, ‘We're in too deep. We cant back out now you dumbfuck.’. . . so, yeah. . . I’m sorry. . .”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Ikiko sighs in relief, placing a hand to her chest. I give her a blank and utterly confused expression.

“What?”

“I was so worried I did something to upset you this whole time!” All I could say was a stupid, simple ‘Oh’.

“N-No! I couldn't hate a person after meeting them and they were polite!” I fumble. Ikiko smiles gratefully.

“Still,” Ryouma interrupts, reminding me once more he was here. “She has the eye color of the things you deal with. . . does the thing we’re dealing with have those eyes too?” Gonta quietly gasps his name, catching onto what the other was accusing Ikiko of. It took Ikiko a few moments before it struck her and she let out a gasp.

“No! I’m not a demon or anything like that! I’m perfectly sane!” She urgently aruges. “I-It’s just a coincidence!”

“Is it really?” He wonders. “We don't know **why** we’re here. If it was a ploy to get to Kazehaya, it would make sense to leave one of their agents here with us.” Ikiko furrows her brows, debating this idea for several long moments before sighing.

“That is true. . .”

“But Gonta thought Kazehaya-san is a preacher. . .” Gonta adds to the conversation as he plays with his large hands.

“Well, she’s _more_ than that. . .” Ryouma sighs, placing a hand on his head to pull his beanie back just a bit. “I mean, she uses magic and all, she isnt what most people would call normal.” On this world anyway. “Regardless, it’s pretty clear -- to me anyway -- that she’s working for a higher power, **a Goddess of Hope**. Leave a bunch of kids in a Killing Game and pit them against each other _and_ leave a demon among the students to corrupt them? That’s one way to get their attention. . .” Egh. That’s right. . . I let him read over my journals. I didn't really think he took in that much information. . . but I suppose he didn't notice anything about my identity. . . and if he did, he’s keeping quiet about that. That could be a problem later on. . .

“Well, I don't think Hekoten-chan is a demon nor possessed by one.” I interrupt before this could spiral out of control. “There’s no such vibe coming from her and if she _was_ I would have noticed with me standing so close enough to her.” Ryouma hums, pulling the candy cigarette from his mouth.

“If that’s what you think I’ll trust you on that Kazehaya,” He simply states. He shoves his hands into his pockets and turns away, heading to the door. . . but before he reenters the hall he pauses. “That reminds me. . . why don't you come around to my lab in a few hours? We can. . . **play a game of tennis . . .** ” And with that said, he places the candy cigarette back into his mouth and slides into the hall with Gonta on his heels.

. . .

Ryouma. . . he doesn’t _play_ tennis anymore. . .

Did he. . .

 ****_DID HE JUST THREATEN ME?!_

“M-My. . . that was. . .odd. . .” Ikiko awkwardly laughs to try and clear up the air. I make an awkward choked sound in return. I pound a fist against chest to clear it.

“Yeah.” I wheeze. I take an awkward glance around the room and to the door once more. “Are you okay with your lab on this floor. . . that’s you know, basically haunted?” She blinks for a moment before she smiles . . . rather serenely and calmly and she threads her fingers together.

“Oh no, it’s . . . rather calming. . .” I blink dumbly. I’m not even sure how to respond to that but Ikiko quietly laughs and brushes some hair behind her ear.

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/yofsOSx6Y94)

“My sister. . . She passed away years ago. . . She was murdered. That’s actually why I picked up calligraphy. For a long time, it was just the two of us. . . We had no one else. . . So when she died, I had to write all the invitations for the wake. I practiced again and again to make them perfect. . . Then it became something to calm me down and keep me going.”

“If it was just the two of you. . .” I pause for a moment, trying to formulate what I wanted to say. “For your talent to stem from this, you had to write a lot of invitations, right?” I question, steering her over to the couch. This was a heavy topic and it probably hurt her to recall. The only right thing I could was listen to her and help try console her if she broke into tears.

“My sister was well loved. . .” Ikiko smiles, she looks pained but. . . the smile is warm and genuine. “She had many friends and she was apart of the theatre club, when she wasn't working to support us. So, I had to make so many invitations and because it was for her, I had to make sure they were perfect. She was . . .” Ikiko sighs deeply. “She was so different from Shinguuji-chan, you know. . .?”

I suddenly feel like I’m hit by a train of bricks. . . because she’s _right_. Her situation was so similar to the Shinguuji siblings, and yet, Ikiko’s older sister cared for her even after being forced into the role of an adult. The way Ikiko fondly talks of her sister, with this light in her eyes and a smile on her face, showed how much she loved and adored her sister even after death. I couldn't help but wonder could Korekiyo ever feel this way about his sister if he knew how cruel she was?

I . . . I dont know and that’s such a painful thought. Ikiko, a kind person, lost her sister; who was a genuinely kind and hardworking person. . . while Korekiyo was stuck with someone that distanced herself from him and became so angry and bitter to a point she contemplated murder.

It’s horribly cruel. . .

“What happened to you afterwards?” I softly question. “You were living on you own. . . No family at all. . . too young to have a job, I guess?”

“Yeah.” Ikiko nods. “When our parents died we had good neighbors that would help us and onee-chan would find a job. I was too young to do anything. . . so I did as onee-chan requested, I lived life as happily as I possibly could. . . But when she died, the same thing happened. I was old enough to get a job but the neighbors still helped me. . .until recently. . . when I. . .” A baffled look crossed Ikiko’s face. She repeats ‘when I’ again and again, yet, clearly unable to connect this thought to a proper memory.

“. . .When did things change. . . ?” She finally whispers in a forlorn tone. Her eyes are hazy eyes and her expression is just. . . confusion. It’s almost like there’s a hole in her memory. But why? Why would there be a hole in her memory in _that_ point in time?

* * *

  
“Alright Kiibles,” Miu suddenly exclaims, pressing her left boot clad foot against a switch on the floor. It was connected to a mechanical seat that bore a great similarity to a dental engine. “What’s up with you blowing off your crush on Shyhara like that? Kiss him and now you’re too good for him?”

“I did not kiss him.” Kiibo firmly states. He suddenly makes a buzzing sound and the screens on his collar state **LIE** in big red text. Miu rolls her eyes. The lie detector was supposed to be for Ouma, now that shit is back to normal but if it works on Kiibo in this situation, well, that proves its working just fine.

“Yeah and I don’t think girls are cute.” Kiibo blinks, a bit confused by the other’s statement.

“Well, Kazehaya-san is not a girl, so technically, no, you do not.” Miu huffs, placing her hands on her hips. Okay, so she’s _bisexual_ that doesn't change the point she made.

“Hey! Don’t avoid the subject! You can’t kiss him and then run off and avoid answering his questions! It’s such a dick move!”

“It doesn't matter.” Kiibo simply states with a sigh. “He is dating Kazehaya-san and he’s obviously happy with her. _If_ I had feelings for him, I would have no intentions of ruining his happiness.”

“Goddamn. You’re so soft and pure. . .” Miu mumbles, both enchanted and grossed out by Kiibo’s caution and kindness to the budding relationship those two shared. “But fuck that shit! Kazehaya is dating Momota, and Saihara is okay with that!” Kiibo sighs with exasperation, dragging his hands down his face.

“Even if _she_ is okay with multiple partners, it doesn't mean Saihara-kun is!”

“He’s so got a boner over Momota. It’s disgusting how they both dance around their feelings and fail to realize the other likes them back.”

“Can we. . . Can we not talk about this anymore?” Kiibo hesitant asks. Miu sighs deeply, but sympathetically.

“Yeah. Let’s get down to business, the _real_ reason why you came here.”


	34. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {03}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> unfortunately there was supposed to be a piece of art accompanying this chapter but im sick  
> so rip me

[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

Soon enough, I left Ikiko to her own devices and explored what remained of the floor, which happened to be only a hallway with three empty small room. They looked exactly alike and were poorly constructed in my opinion.

The boards were not nailed down, instead laid side by side on the joists, causing the boards to slide and make the footing uneven and shaky. Thankfully, the boards were thick and heavy that someone couldn't slip though them or anything. However, there were some gaps at the corner of the room due to the structure and there was no proper lighting, just a few candles in some high up spots on the wall, so it was a nightmare to walk around in any of the three rooms.

This all made for a huge ‘what the fuck’ factor if I’m going to be honest. All these rooms did was make the floor creepier. Nevertheless, with the last of the floor explored I decided to move to the courtyard of the school once more with the scroll and hammer in hand.

Monophanie’s Exisals was casually strolling about, continuing to do maintenance on the patches of grass in the courtyard. By this point in time the grass was now cut to a reasonable level, making stone and large debris visible. I happened to notice Himiko and approached her with a wave. . . but she simply said ‘It’s becoming more and more beautiful, just like me.’ in reference to the campus’ clean up job.

. . . I think she’s blushing?

Alright then.

Regardless, we proceed to make our way around the courtyard in search of something new or out of place. For a moment, it seems like nothing has changed despite the new items we’ve been given to uncover more of the campus. . . but Himiko points out something new. A stone statue of a ninja with a fox-like mask, not far from the Altar of Judgement.

The state was certainly made from stone but used various different types of stone to make different shades of color. A dark gray for the cowl on its head, a lighter shade for the clothes and a pale gray for the skin tone. . The mask itself was very intricate.

A smooth white material for the base, there were holes where the cheeks went -- for whatever reason -- but a line of red paint used those holes to make a devilish fox mouth. A nostrils and whiskers detailed with black paint. Above the nostrils was a long teal rain drop, light blue flames above the cheeks and that curved around the shape of the eyes, on the forehead were three red lines and the inside of the ears were painted red as well. The eyes of the mask were yellow, outlined with thick black lines and outlined once more with a thin red line.

That's strangely attention grabbing for a ninja, which is, ya know, supposed to sneak around?

Humming, I push that aside and began to investigate the statue. . . the first thing I notice is that the cheeks of the statue is also hollowed out, making a perfect hole from on end of the face to the other. With only a hammer and scroll left, it was clear what this was for.

I slide the scroll into the mouth of the statue and the world is silent at first. . . then the ground rumbles and shakes. Trees begin to fall over left and right as something rises from the ground To my utter shock it was a dojo. The building looked. . . natural but it had in bright blue neon lights and gigantic neon signs on the roof.

What the fuck.

Without hesitation, Himiko began to run towards the building. She trips at the doorstep but she gets up once more and tries to push the door open, but with Tenko’s death. . . it’s locked, never to be opened. Desperate and heartbroken, Himiko falls to her knees, pounding her small fists against the door. I was going to turn away and give her some time to pull herself together, but. . .

“Please. . .give this to me. . . let me understand the things she loved. . .”

With those words, I simply could not.

But not yet.

As long as the Exisals were around, they would enforce the rules that applied to me, preventing me from tearing this place apart, brick by brick. I would have to figure out where they’re stored and they’ll be easy to dispose of. I take a deep breath and turned away but in doing so I notice the path leading to Miu’s lab.

Maybe I should update theme on what we found so far so they wouldn't be out of the loop. . . I slowly opened the door to her lab as quietly as possible in order to avoid startling the two inside. . . only hear a sound -- something like a moan -- and I witness an unexpected scene.

[ **\- New Classmate of the Dead -** ](https://youtu.be/2PK9c8RWjnQ)

Miu's body is pressed against Kiibo's chassis, her eyes filled with. . . joy or lust? Her fingers are eagerly running over Kiibo's body, nearly panting with ecstasy. Kiibo, on the other hand, he just looked so flustered and a bit startled, his synthetic cheeks flushed a pink hue as Miu started to crawl on top of his body.

“I knew it. . .” She whispers, running her hands over his chassis. “You really built up a lot. . . You're just ready to burst with dust and trash. . .” her hands rest on Kiibo’s cheeks and his flushes even more. “That aint good. . . Ya can't stay that full. . .”

“I-I’m sorry . . . ever since I got here, I haven't been able to attend to my . . . needs. . .” Kiibo mumbles, clearly embarrassed by this.

“Oh. . . That's no good. . .In that case, I'll give it my all. I'll make ya feel real refreshed. . .okay?” She whispers in a low sultry voice. Kiibo hesitantly nods, quietly thanking her. “Ah~ You’re so hard. . .” She beams, running her hands over his body once more. “Your whole body so amazing. . . !” With her own cheeks flushed red, she whispers. “This is. . . it’s so incredible. . .”

“C-Careful. . . Be gentle. .  Th-That tickles. . .” Kiibo softly whines, turning his head to the side in an attempt to try and hide his flustered expression.

“This is amazing. . .” Miu eagerly licks her lips. “This is the first time I've ever seen something so amazing. . . If you'd be able to show me all those amazin' things you can do, then . . .” A shiver runs through Miu’s body and she leans closer to Kiibo, whispering that she feels so tingly.

“Y-You can do. . . do some pretty amazing things too. If I had your skills, then you'd be able to leave it all to m--!” Kiibo suddenly lets out a shrill cry of surprise.

“Oh~ You make cute sounds when I touch you, huh? That’s so precious. . .”

Blankly staring at this scene, I finally manage to shake myself from my stupefied confused state and I slowly close the door. Just. . . .maintenance work. Nothing weird going on here.  


[ **\- Instinct and Longing -** ](https://youtu.be/UDN2IRvx2J8)

Anyway. . .

I return to the third floor once again, this time running into Maki. She gives me an impassive look, which reminds me that I never got the drawing back from Ouma like I said I would. Whoops.

“Did you find everything?” She questions. I shake my head.

“I just can't figure out what this hammer is for. . .” She pauses for a few moments before turning her back to me and simply telling me I should follow her. Despite being confused, I concede with her demand and follow her down the hallway with the three empty rooms. I really hate this hallway. This whole floor honestly. This creepy ass bullshit place. I really don't want to stay here longer than I have to. . .

“Are you scared?” Maki questions. Her voice is sharp, like she can't believe this is actually happening. “Didn’t you say you’re an expert fighter?”

“Well, yeah!” I exclaim. “But have _you_ ever dealt with an actual ghost? A lot of them are just people that want to pass on but there can be these real assholes!”

“Ghosts aren’t real.” She scoffs, rolling her eyes. I pout in return to how she simply she could shrug it off what I said. Sure, I can prove I have magic but saying ghosts are real is too much for her? I open my mouth to argue with her but she gives me a sharp look, causing me to to shut up. She scoffs once more, crossing her arms irritably as she continues down the hall. I stick my tounge out at her backside and follows after her.

Uncomfortably, the hallway stretches longer than I would like but I continue to follow Maki, however, I’m so distracted, I ended up bumping into her. Maki grunts in response. Looking over her shoulder I see what was at the end of this hallway. . . and it was a painting.

A painting of a long lost friend. . . A bust of Chiaki Nanami, an old classmate from my brief time at Hope’s Peak.

The same warm but sleepy smile I remembered was painted on her face. . . but floating above her head was a broken halo and there were two bloody stump that were once great white wings that emerged from her backside. What was visible of her shoulders was covered in blood, which was also splattered on her face, and there were holes in her body from the spears that impaled her, the cause of her tragic death six years ago. . .

My fists clenched at my sides and I furrow my brows in annoyance and and rage before I push past Maki to put an unnecessary amount of strength into tearing the painting down from the wall. For a brief moment, I’m surprised to see a reflection in the glass hidden behind the painting.

My own angry face. I frown at the sight and turn away to recollect myself. . . when out of the corner of my eye, I notice something. There, reflected in the glass was Chiaki. She wasn't riddled with holes not was she covered in blood. She looked . . . safe and alive. Our eyes connected for a brief moment, and during that moment she smiled warmly before she vanished leaving only myself and Maki in the glass.

“What are you doing?” Maki questioned. Before I even realized it, my hand was pressed against the glass, like I wanted to break it to see my friend again. That was a completely stupid and futile effort given that I knew every well it wasn't possible as I carried her soul in a soul jar for years, and still do.

“No. It’s nothing.” I shake my head with an awkward laugh. I pull the hammer out from my bag and gently slap it against my hand as I think about what’s before me. There’s honestly no reason to place a mirror here, other than to scare us, and there seems to be something behind the glass. Although of what, I have no idea.

But, this is the only logical thing I could think of to do with the final item. With a powerful swing, I smash the face of the hammer against the large pane of glass. That one hit was more than enough with my strength. The cracks in the glass quickly spread and the glass implodes, the pieces of glass fall from the frame and to the floor.

“A hidden passage.” Maki comments. “I figured as much, let’s go.” Maki then marches forward, entering this new part of the school first. Strangely, this passageway looked so different from the horror like atmosphere of the rest of the floor -- like a factory. The waiting was nothing more than an L shaped hall with a number of large generators lining it and at the end of the hall was a strangely futuristic double door.

In the center of it was a green circular node, which proceeded to rotate, and with a click the doors slid into the wall revealing quite a curious sight. The room beyond the door was incredibly advanced and futuristic. . . too advanced to be honest. To be honest, it looked incredibly out of place compared to all we’ve seen so far.

Cold steel floors, bright computer screens were built into the walls along with a number of heart rate monitors. In the center of the room was . . . a computer? I’m not sure. It kinda looked like a giant XBOX. Nevertheless, there were tons of thick heavy wires coming from the sides, connecting to a power supply in the wall behind it. Thinner wires emerged from the bottom of the giant box and connected to a number of computer hubs that surrounded it.

What _is_ this place?

[ **\- Good Bearning! -** ](https://youtu.be/JIs46teItaQ)

**“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”**

JESUS CHRIST  


And with that, the remaining three Monokubs appear before Maki and myself out of absolutely nowhere.

“C0NGR4TUL4T1ONS-ON-F1ND1NG-TH3- **C0MPUT3R-R00M**.” Monodam greets.

We found the computer room. Just like Vector always wanted. I stupidly snicker to myself, earning a pointed look from Maki and a long silence from Monodam. I cough.

“Continue.”

“Well, it’s our job to explain the use of the room. . .” Monophanie begins. “It's not just _any_ computer! The Master Computer has a **special function**! It's absolutely incredible!”

“What’s the function?” Maki presses.  
  
“As if we’ll tell you BIIIIIITCH!!” Monokid howls. Monodam just gave him a long hard look.

“W-Well, it’s a secret. . .” Monophanie stutters. “You’ll have to undercover it on your own!” Maki gives her an even deadlier look and Monophanie hurries away, her siblings following in tow.

 

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

God. I hate those goddamn bears.

I sigh to myself before glancing around the room once more. This time I notice Maki is inspecting something, a familiar golden and red chest. She kicks it open and pulls out whatever is inside, revealing a Flashback Light.

“Another one!!!” Monokuma’s shrill voice shrieks. He suddenly pops out the vent shaft in the room, charging right for Maki. Without hesitation, she narrows her eyes, whips a knife from the strap under her kneelength socks and raises it to defend herself from the bear. However, Monokuma was not aiming for her, he leapt into the air and his stubby paws snatched the Flashback Light from her.

The bear then absconds from the scene by bolting out of the door to the Computer Lab. Maki blinks, her cheeks flushed and her jaw slacked just a bit. It was a strangely adorable and charming expression. A choked laugh escape escaped me causing Maki to shoot a nasty look and I immediately looked away.

“What was the point of that?”

“He’s done it before, saying it’s unimportant we remember the past.”

“All was important was we made it to **The Reckoning. . .** ” Maki mumbles, bringing a finger to her lip in thought. I let out a sigh, shrugging my shoulders. “What the hell is **The Reckoning. . . ?** ”

“We don't know. We won't know until that day comes.”  


* * *

 

Eventually everyone reunited in the dining hall to recount what they found that morning. Angie was not present but I wasn’t entirely surprised by that. Given what Shuuichi and Amami has reported, she’s more or less decided to lock herself in her lab as soon as she found it, and honestly I don't want to deal with her anyway. Not that I hate her. She’s just, complicated to deal with. . .

“An entire fuckin’ computer room, huh?” Miu questions, obvious eagerness in her voice. I nod my head, quickly jumping on the change of subject.

“The cubs said it has some secret and simple function.” I explain, crossing my arms. A few people have some curious expressions while most seem to be impulsive or unconcerned but Miu looks ready to bolt from the room to see the computer room herself.

“Don’t trust it.” Maki simply states, cutting Miu off before she could flee the dining hall. Miu blinks, surprised that Maki would command anything of her. Miu makes a disgruntled expression, looking positively annoyed.

“Christ, you don’t have to baby me.” She mutters. The faux-caretaker gives her a nasty look, causing Miu to cry out in terror and shake in her boots.

“I’m saying, don’t fall for an obvious trap.” Maki hisses. “Whatever that function is, it’s going to try and entice someone into murder.”

“So, we just ban entry to it all together?” Kaito questions, rubbing the back of his head.

“Harukawa-san is right.” Shuuichi points out. All eyes turn to him and by default he jumps a bit and looks nervous to be the center of attention but Amami smiles and give him a gentle pat on the back. Shuuichi manages to nod his head and continues where he left off. “A computer room with a special function sounds like an obvious ploy to get us to turn against each other to figure it out and weaponize it. It seems like barring entry is the only plausible option.”

“Bothering with that computer sound like a pain anyway. . .” Himiko mumbles, as she lays her torso across the table top surface.

“But we can’t leave it unexplored!” Kaito exclaims. “What if those secret functions let us control things in the school!?”

“As if the mastermind would give us the ability to do that.” Ouma scoffs, his legs crossed and on the table, as he checks his nails. He removes his legs from the table and leans forward to rest his elbows on the surface and cradle his cheeks in his hands. “And Saihara-chan’s assumption that no one would break a promise is completely naive~!”

“What are you talking about?” Shuuichi questions raising a brow in confusion.

“I mean,” Ouma dramatically begins, shrugging his shoulders. “Even if we agree with have no guarantee no one won’t break that agreement.” He claps his hands together, a grin splitting across his face and his eyes sparkle with mocking joy. “But who? Who would do that? Oh wait! dont answer! It's obvious after all, isnt it? Shirogane-chan’s killer is still among us! If they found the secret functions of the computer room, they could kill us all! Isn’t that exciting?!”

“Then why don’t you do something about it?” Himiko huffs, lifting her head up and shooting him a pointed look. Ouma blinks, surprised by her words but he quickly regains his cool and frowns.

“Oh? And how would I do that?” He cooly demands.

“Make a magic charm obviously.” Himiko answers as if it was the most obvious thing. I hum, stroking my chin. Well, creating a charm, much like the one I used to keep people out of my office and Maki’s lab, would more or less do the job. . . However, I would have to make a charm of my own to reinforce his work. Honestly, Kokichi isn’t bad at magic. . . he’s definitely received an innate skill from his mother, but he isn’t good either. To be frank he’s nowhere as good as Himiko yet but I am certain he can get better in time.

“Oh, that’s right, Kiriri is teaching you magic!” Kaito grins. He gives Ouma a thumbs up, his expression clearly eager to see some magic in action. This. . . embarrassed Ouma quite a bit but he plays it off with a laugh.  
  
“Well, of course, are you that easily amused?” He snorts.

“Can this virgin do anything?” Miu questions. Ouma gives her a rather disgusted and pointed look.

“Can you do anything than furiously jacking off because of every girl that looks your way for a moment?” Predictably, Miu moaned, her knees quivering as she was publicly humiliated. She's practically drooling and her face is flushed red with ecstasy.

. . .I really have to do something about that if this is honestly being aired on TV to someone somewhere . . . Not only is the babydoll as her _only_ pajamas fucked up but her. . . moaning and quivering for some perverts at home to watch is _especially_ fucked up.

“Alright, show us the magic Ouma!” Kaito demands. Surprisingly, others began to chant for Ouma to present his magical prowess. Ouma began to sweat, completely taken by surprise by how people were so interested in seeing his magic.  


* * *

  
And so, here we are, on the cursed floor yet again before the glass pane that was once covered with the painting of Nanami. Together Himiko and I ran white chalk over the floor to create a magic circle that would aid Ouma’s magic while he pouted in the center of it.

If I had to hazard a guess why, it was simply because he was embarrassed to be the center of attention under these circumstances. . . and possibly a fear of an audience? The only audience he’s ever had before was Himiko and myself, but additional several people? That’s quite a jump from before.

In an honest retrospect, I have no idea why I allowed all of them to be here for this.

Nevertheless, Himiko and I leave the area of the magic circle to give Ouma space to work. I watch him take a deep breath and slowly lift his hands. Two small purple magic circles appeared at his fingertips, inscribed in the shape of the circle that was drawn on the floor.

A shimmering light formed at the base inside the door frame. . . and with a moment of hesitation, the light began to move, tracing the inside of the frame until the points met and a sheen of light fit the frame.  A couple others watched with awe and clapped their hands -- like Gonta and Kaito.

So far, everything looked good. . .

But the moment I had that thought, everything went wrong just like Murphy Law dictated.

The sheet of light fitted in the door frame twitched and shuttered, proving that it was quickly becoming unstable. Consern flickered over Ouma’s face, causing the sheet to shuttere even more violently than before before shattering like glass. The shards of magic don't fall to the ground, instead they point at Ouma as if they were going to strike him down. That was more than enough proof that he was starting to break under pressure from such a large audience.

And yet, the first to act completely surprises me.

It’s Himiko.

She rushes across the distance, despite protests from both sides and grabs onto Ouma by the strap that hangs from the sleeve of his shirt. With unpredictably speed, she wraps the strap around her arm, essentially binding herself to Ouma. She then takes ahold of his hand while she lifts the other one and instanously, circular crimson red magical circles appear at her fingertips. 

The shards are pulled back to door frame, easily fitting together with the help of a familiar crimson light that runs between the cracks. The combination of their magic causes the shards to reform into a single sheet once more, which then becomes a transparent force and suddenly, two large magic circles, crimson and purple, appear.

The circles float in place before the door frame, crimson moving in clockwise while the purple rotates counter-clockwise. I let out a sigh of relief. It seems Himiko’s magic was able to balance out Ouma’s and her presence was enough to calm him, allowing the spell to properly function.

I then step forward and place my fingertips on one of the magic circles. The pale blue light of my magic comes forth and my own circle appears underneath the two -- it consisted of a smaller circle surrounded by two rings; the circle and outer ring rotated clockwise while the other ring rotated counter clockwise. Satisfied, I brushed my hands together and looked back to the baffled and awed crowed.

“Alright, so, lesson learned, Ouma isnt ready to work in front of big crowds.” I awkwardly laugh. He, on the other hand, frowns.

“How dare you!” He dramatically gasps. “How dare you accuse me of messing up on _accident_ ! I would _never_ do something like that!” A grin splits across his face, almost hauntingly so. “I would most definitely botch a spell to take all of you out!”

“Doubt.” I find myself muttering. After reluctantly opening up about his past and his family it’s become clear to me he’s as afraid as any one of us, but despite that, I don't think he has it in him to actually, like, physically harm anyone. He can still lie and tease us, but, there’s so much doubt that he will actually go through with it.

“Yeah, I don't think you’d wanna hurt anyone!” Kaito grins, throwing an arm around Ouma’s shoulder. Ouma looked baffled. . .then completely flustered as Kaito held him close to his body. “You looked pretty scared when things started to get outta hand!”

“He’s still as much of a pest as he was before.” Maki rudely quips before turning her back and walking away from the scene.

“Still. . . it was pretty incredible to see your magic in action.” Shuuichi pipes up, looking a tad flustered as he admitted this. Ouma immediately begins to blush. He pulls his scarf up and hastily escapes the scene, trying to hide how the positive reinforcement was affecting him.

That was. . . oddly adorable. . .  


* * *

  
[ **  
\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/u8Rq8MjAKkQ)

This is _totally_ a bad idea.

Am I ready to die.

Totally.

Probably.

But, here I am at Ryouma’s lab as he requested hours ago. Pushing the door open, the sound of tennis balls being shot out of a machine and thwaping against a racket before being rocketed across the room once more reaches my ears. Ryouma sends a few more balls flying away before pulling a small black device from his pocket and pressing the button. The machine promptly shuts down after firing one last ball, which Ryouma easily bats away. He doesnt even look my way as he places his racket down and begins to pick up the tennis balls scatter across the room.

“I knew you’d come.” He simply chuckles. He simply tosses the balls into the nearby bucket, before pulling his candy cigarette out of his mouth and holding it between his fingers to point it right at me once he spun around.

“Are you sure about that?” I find myself asking in a deadpan tone.

“Gokuhara told me you had an appointment with him today and we both know you like to delay things if they stress you out, like our meeting. . . but you try not to disappoint others and so you always show up, even if youre dead on the inside.”

_damn hes good_

He motions to a tennis racket resting on a nearby bench. I raise a brow but pick it up nonetheless. Ryouma pulls a tennis ball from the bucket, bouncing it against the floor a few times before looking back at me.

“How about a wager.” It didn’t sound much like a question but a request or a demand.

of course that's his game. . .

“I guess. . .” I mumble scratching my cheek. He chuckles once more.

“I wouldn’t ask a wager of someone I didn’t think would have a fighting chance.”

“And what’s your wager?”

“Tell me about Ouma.”

“. . .What.” That was a completely unexpected request. Why would he want to know about Ouma? “Why the hell would you want that?” Ryouma mumbles a simple sheesh, pulling his beanie down a bit.

“To _talk_ to him.”

_what_

“Don't make me say this shit. . .” However, Ryouma sighs as he takes in my utterly baffled expression. “He’s damaged like any other one of us. . .its proof he's just as human as the rest of us despite what he wants us to think. I thought, _maybe_ having others around to help him would do everyone good,” Ryouma then snorts, as if he’s amused by the very concept. “I may not be the best, but I’d certainly try.”

That’s. . . rather heartwarming actually. Despite how much he’s willing to put himself down, he’s willing to help other that need help.

“I’ll give. . . as much as I can.” I say with a breathless laugh. “There’s a fair amount that he needs to tell you himself as its rather personal.”

“Fair enough.” Ryouma huffs. He begins to dribble the tennis ball against the court before stopping and looking back at me. “You said you played tennis back in high school, right?”

“I mean, I joined club for a few years while on a job in Japan.” Ryouma hums once more and he begins to bounce the ball against the ground. I watch him for a few moments before skittering across the ground to join him on the court.

. . .  


Needless to say, even with my strength and vague memory of tennis rules, I got my ass kicked pretty hard but it’s not like I expected any different.

And, according to the wager we agreed upon, I told Ryouma what I could about Ouma.

 

* * *

 

As usual, our lessons took place in Toujou’s lab but because this was going to be dance lessons, most of the furniture was cleared from the center of the room and a portable CD player from Kaede’s lab was brought over, which played soft classical music in the background.

And with his back turned to mine, Gonta nervously played with the lapses of his suit. His nervousness was still rather adorable but making use of the blinds was pointless in my opinion as we both knew he wouldn’t peak anyway. Nevertheless, the tools of my sewing kit were hard at work, snipping and cutting bundles of fabric into a styled ball gown for the sake of his lessons for this evening.

Looking into the mirror in Toujou’s lab I placed my favorite pair of pearl drop earrings into my ears. As soon as that was done I began to apply just a little of eyeliner and some light pink lipstick to my lips, figuring it should be best to look somewhat formal about the lesson to help him get into it.

Once my makeup was finished, a pair of white gloves easily slid onto my arms, reaching a couple inches pass my elbows. The bust quickly wrapped around my torso, fitting into jeweled neckline, which was immediately followed by a white full skirt adorned with large pale blue ribbons.

With the dress fitted on my body, I lifted it up just a bit at the hem to make sure my stockings and the white heels on my feet were still in place. Once I found they were, I smiled with satisfaction and placed my veil back onto my head, giving me the usual appearance of my deceased student.

[ **  
\- Waltz of the Flowers -** ](https://youtu.be/Kw0wLLVEMaA)

“I’m ready Gokuhara-kun.” I smile, my head lifted tall and proud and my back straight as I approached him. His face immediately lit up, his cheeks flushed and his eyes sparkled, like he was utterly captivated.

“O-Oh. . . Gonta knew Kazehaya-san wasn’t lying about being a queen before but Gonta can see it now! Kazehaya-san is absolutely stunning!”

It was hard to not blush at such genuine words. Growing up on my earth I was often mocked and teased for my appearance. Things certainly did change when I began to forge my clan and filled my life with much kinder people but it still felt so surreal.

Still, I give him a gentle smile in return and bow my head just a little before looking back at his face once again.  
  
“Thank you Gokuhara-kun. That’s rather sweet of you to say, and like always, you look quite charming yourself.” Gonta looks absolutely delighted by my words. He perks up like a dog whose owner has returned home after a long day of work.

He offers his hand to me and I take it with a smile, he then carefully leads me to the center of the room where he parts. Gonta then politely bows as I gather my dress in my hands and curtsy.

“Gokuhara Gonta.” He introduces himself. I find myself smiling once more, utterly endeared by him.

“Kazehaya Yuuki.” I politely reply. With our introductions made we both stand tall once again and he offers his left hand to me with a kind smile.

“May Gonta have this dance?” He seems to quickly realize that’s not the proper phrasing of the question and he looks a tad embarrassed by this. However, I smile, placing my hand into his own and we raise our elbows to shoulder height. Carefully his large right hand rested on my shoulder blade and he glanced to me for approval so I flashed him a smile in return as I placed my left hand on his forearm -- due to height difference it was all I could do since he was a fucking foot taller than me.

“Do you recall the direction?” I ask as he takes the lead with his left foot, moving with the three count tempo the dance required. He cautiously glances down as he moves and I follow his steps by moving backwards with my right foot. Together, we move with our opposite foot, keeping our feet parallel and a foot apart from each other before bringing the leading door back so our feet were touching side by side.

“It’s. . .counter clockwise, correct?” He replies. It sounds more like a question as he is solely focused on our feet. He’s probably deathly afraid that he’d crush my feet if he stepped on them.This time he moves backwards with his left foot and I follow by stepping forward with my right. And by following steps from before, we complete the basic box step used in the waltz dance.

“That’s right,” I smile. “And the formation used at a party?” As the question is made, Gonta lowers his arm resting on my shoulder, folding it behind his back and I follow the motion by removing the hand from his forearm and tuck it behind my back.

“Experienced dancers are in the outer ring, okay dancers are second, and then beginners are in the smallest ring in the center of the room.” He lifts his left arm into the air, holding my right hand and I delicately spin while he keeps moving his feet in the basic motions of the box steps. On the count of three, my hand makes its way back to his forearm and his returns to my shoulder.

“Correct,” I beam. “See, I told you. You would be able to remember all this with some practice! You’re doing wonderful so far Gokuhara-kun!” He seemed sheepish to accept my praise but, he didn't complain.

However, I couldn't believe his response. Gonta had already proven he was so brilliant in so many ways despite his own doubts and honestly, learning these dance steps so soon and various facts and details about how to present yourself and dance accordingly at important formal events in such a short time just proved that all again.

It took me months to understand all of these things after all!

Smiling, the two of us continued to dance, switching it up by practicing other ballroom dances; like the tango and the foxtrot.  


* * *

 

[ **\- Moonlight Arpeggio -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1-8_OW39bs)

Kaito insisted on training this night, saying he had a **‘hell of a surprise’** waiting for Shuuichi and myself. I could only wonder what it possibly could be as I waited for the clock to hit 10PM. Tired and bored, I let my foot anxiously bounce around as I stared at the ceiling. . .

**DING DONG**

. . .when the doorbell suddenly rang.

My eyes darted to the clock on the MonoTV as I went to grab my veil and hurried to pull it over my head. The TV indicated it was only **21:27** ; who the hell could it be?

**DING DONG**

Impatiently, the doorbell rang once more. I quickly yanked it open to be greeted with the sight of Miu. She looked a mess, tugging at a long curl of her hair while she hastily glanced around the entrance hall of the dorm building before turning back to me and realizing the door was open. She quickly pushes me in and slams the door shut behind her, pressing her back against it for extra measure.

It was completely bizarre to see her like. . . well, like _this_. She was sweaty and her legs trembled, if it wasn't for the obvious anxious expression on her face, I would have assumed she was getting off or something.

“Iruma-chan, what’s going on?” I gently ask, leading her away from the door and over to my bedside. She glances back to the door, as if she’s expecting someone to plow it down like the fucking kool-aid man and stab her with a knife or something. “Did something happen?” I question a bit more urgently.

“I. . . **I got it open. . .** ” She finally admits.  


[ **\- Wonderful Story -** ](https://youtu.be/56JN4D_rgdk)

It took several moments for it to sink in and for me to realize the meaning of her words and once I understood I let out a gasp.

 **It.** She got  **_IT_ ** open.

**The secret door in the library.**

All this time I’ve been waiting for this. . . And finally, we can get some answers to what the hell is going on around here! I swiftly zoom over to her side, firmly placing my hands on her shoulders, and looked her dead in her eyes.

“What was behind the door? What was there?!”

“I-I donno!” She sputters. My facc freezes in an awkward expression, completely baffled to how she could NOT know what was behind the door despite opening it.

“How. . .?”

“It was dark and I didn't have any supplies. . .” She fumbles, sweating once again and nervously tugging at the hem of her pink skirt. “I. . . I think I found a switch but I couldn't. . . I couldn't like, flip it?” Looking thoroughly stressed out and simply disturbed, she adds; “And there was this ominous red light. . . I split as soon as I could. . .”

“ **The power wouldn’t turn on?** ” I repeat, baffled. Why would that be the case? If this is a room belonging to the mastermind why would there be no power and yet something with an ominous red light? Did that thing run on a separate generator?

“Y-Yeah. . . I-I can take you to it now. . . if you wanna. . .” She meekly mumbles. I cross my arms, bringing a finger to my lips in thought. I have my phone to use as a light, but, is there enough time to properly examine that place without interference?

Given how Angie has acted -- breaking into my lab and shuffling through my stuff after hours -- I don't think I can. So, the only way I could do that. . . that was if everyone else was distracted and no one had any chance to enter the library to cause a distraction.

“Not tonight.” I decide, lowering my arms to my sides. “We need to act when everyone else is distracted **. . . and that would be the night of the Cultural Festival Dance.** It will take some time, but it would be enough for you to prepare some lighting and maybe a backup generator if necessary.” Miu looked more than hesitant to agree but I hold her hands in my own, looking right into her eyes.

“Please understand my request, but do not mention this to anyone else. We don't know who the mastermind is, and too many people in on this may cause more of a mess than needed, okay?”

“O-Okay. . .” She mumbles, hesitantly nodding her head. I gently smile back and after a few patient moments, I escort her back to the door and watch her make her return to her room. For the entire walk she cautiously looks around, afraid that someone would have jumped her but once she unlocks her door she hurries inside, slamming the door behind her.

Slowly, I ease back into my room, quietly shutting the door before pulling the veil from my head. I then throw myself face down into my bed with a heavy sigh. One step closer to finding answers and shutting this mess down.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/qo2s7WCdH8g)

“Yo, Shuu!” I greet, trotting over to the wisteria covered arbor dressed in a white tanktop and black shorts -- the usual workout outfit assembly. Predictably, Shuuichi blushed and he ended up dropping his pinstripe blazer. He fumbled to grab it, clutching it to his shoulders as his cheeks grew a darker shade of red with the passing moments. “That’s one way to get the blood pumping!” I chuckled.

“I’m sorry!” He apologizes, tearing his eyes away and trying to hide his face in his hands. “This is . . . this is very different from your usual clothes!”

“Ah, don't worry about it!” I grin. “I mean, I usually wear a coat, but this is my basic work clothes for my jobs! Just something simple and it’s not easy to grab onto.”

“I-I see. . .”

“Hey! Sorry I was late!” Kaito beams as he greets the two of us with his wonderful smile and a heartwarming wave. “I had trouble bringing her.” He throws a thumb over his shoulder to. . . point out Maki. Shuuichi’s response was instantaneous. He let out a yelp and placed his blazer over my head, as if that would hide my ass load of hair sparkling white hair from the newcomer.

Maki is just staring at us. Her face stuck in her usual impassive expression.

“H-Harukawa-san? Why is Harukawa-san here?” She furrows her brows, looking rather annoyed. She shoots a sharp look at the two of us and then to Kaito.

“. . .That’s what I’d like to know. This _idiot_ ,” She motions to Kaito with the motion of her head. “started buzzing my intercom and I got so fed up so I opened the door and he immediately dragged me all the way out here.

“Don't worry about the small stuff!” Kaito beams, proudly placing his hands on his hips. “Having a fourth person training with us evens out the numbers and it’s gonna be way more fun if we all work together, right?” Maki’s expression is immediately apathetic.

“Training? All four of us? Is that really the reason you dragged me here?” Before waiting for an answer she scoffs, turning away with the intention of running away but Kaito wasn't willing to let her slip away. He goes on about how a hero has to fight a bigger enemy they train and train endlessly and as his sidekicks, they all have to work together.

Her expression is blank, like she is torn between being offended or outright confused -- probably the former given her actual talent.

I couldn't help but wonder, was he so insistent on spending time with her after the previous vision I had? We have no way if the vision has come to pass, so was this his attempt trying to help protect her? Still Maki isn’t convinced and just a bit more annoyed. Her sharp red eyes dart my away before furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance.

“And what the hell is with this?” She points a sharp red painted nail my way, causing Shuuichi to flinch. “I knew you had magic, as assinie and insane as that is, but this is ridiculous. Your entire appearance was a _lie_? What else have you lied about?”

“How she looks doesn’t change that she cares for everyone and she’s determined to help others.” Kaito interrupts before Maki could do anything.

“Kaito is right. . .” Shuuichi adds, trying to keep himself between Maki and myself. “Many things about Kazehaya-san may be odd, but she’s only done everything she could to try and help us all survive.” Maki stared at me, as if she was debating this concept.

I’m pretty sure if this was normal circumstances, she’d be strangling me right about now but the only reasons why  she wasn’t is because she’s still trying to keep her cover as a simple childcare professional and perhaps the very fact I’ve never raised a hand against another person but only used my own power to help others.

She steps back, giving us all a pointed look. . . and yet, she look like she was struggling to keep her expression stone hard and annoyed. Maybe it was because it was such a struggle to open herself up to other people and there was a hint of fear. Which made sense actually. It was the reason why I offered to help her by changing her lab up after all. . .

“I don't know what you’re up to. . . but, that's a bad idea. This will only end badly, so why are you idiots being so difficult about this?” With a line like that, I couldn't help but wonder how many times she was hurt? But the answer was so obvious -- often and frequently -- to the point she rather shut herself away, bear this burden alone on her back and deny herself a chance to be happy for even a moment because shes gone through too many scares where people would try to kill her out of fear she would be forced to kill them.

She was a child when she was drafted into becoming an assassin. I can't pretend that I know exactly what happened while she trained but, no matter what theory came to mind it made one thing clear; It must have been absolute _hell_ for her.

To be stripped of her humanity, forced to part ways with the very people she gave up her freedom for in order to protect . . . _to fear herself._

It’s honestly sad to think about.

“. . . Hey, what are you fighting?” Kaito suddenly questions. His words surprise me, dragging me back to reality while Maki looks completely taken off guard for a moment but her expression quickly darkened.

“What are you talking about?” She hisses

“I donno.” Kaito sighs, rubbing the of his neck. “You look like. . . well, you look like you're always running away from something.” He suddenly walks up to her, looking right into her sharp red eyes with a rather serious expression that had genuine concern and compassion for her. She begins to sweat a bit, baffled by how things were turning out.

Because by now, most people would have given up on her, wouldn't they?  And if Kaito wasn’t Kaito, he probably would have just blown her off and told her to leave already if she wanted to so badly. . . but _because_ Kaito is Kaito, he isnt going to simply give up on her.

He’s going to be that relentless doofus I know and keep trying to help others.

“You don't need to tell me what your enemy is.” He sighs, shaking his head, before looking to her once more with that confident smile. “But there’s no need to run away from your enemy. If all you want to do is stand up to it, even a little, then we can come together and fight our enemies, together!” Kaito beamed a brilliant smile and gave Maki a thumbs up.

She looked like. . . like she wanted to throttle him or do _something_ that would make him regret his offer. Actually, she looked like she was fighting the urge to whip out her knife as her fingers twitched and she clenched her jaw.

“So, what are ya gonna do?!” He demands. Shuuichi is fretting, nervously moving around the three of us in an attempt to keep things calm, like he expects a fight to break out any moment.

“K-Kaito, you don't have to--”

“. . .Fine.” Maki sighs. “I’ll do it.”

“What?” Is his brilliant and stunned response.

“Don't get the wrong idea.” She mumbles. She pulls one of her long twintails over her shoulder and begins to play with the old damaged hair. It was. . . It was kinda cute actually. . . “He’ll just bug me until I accept. . .I know how he works.” Despite this comment, Kaito looks rather pleased with how things turned out. “Well, what are we doing first?” Excited, Kaito pounds his fists together and that eager grin stretches across his face.

“Alright! We’re gonna start with hundred push-ups!” Maki sighs, pulling away from the three of us to begin some basic stretching. Shuuichi awkwardly watches her before attempting mimic her movements. He isn't doing great. .  . I pull his blazer from my head, draping it over my arm, and approach Kaito.

“Geez Kai-chii, give someone a warning when you invite someone new over. . .” I playfully pout as I assist him in removing his jacket and unbuttoning his long sleeve shirt. As I do, He awkwardly rubs the back of his head.

“Sorry, you usually wear your veil. . .” I pause my work, thinking about this for a moment before realizing, yeah, that’s right. So Maki seeing me like this is my own fault.

“. . .That’s true. . .” Humming, I carry the clothes over to the tables under the wisterias, laying them out so they could be easily collected once training was done for the night. I return to the spot I was before, taking a few moments to stretch my legs and arms.

“Kiriri! You missed a few days so gotta do three hundred!” Kaito grins.

“Mm, alright.” I shrug. Kaito looks baffled by how I was able to simply accept that sum.

“H-Huh? Are you sure Kiriri? You don't have to do that much. . .”

“Three hundred isnt that much given what I usually do.” I shrug. Kaito’s expression is rather dreamy and that stupid grin covers his face once more. He wraps an arm around my shoulder, dragging me to his chest to press a kiss to my temple.

Once everyone was ready to get to work, we all got into position and began to work out. Shuuichi huffed and heaves as he pushes his toro off the ground and lowers himself once more. Kaito is hardly working at all, instead instead he’s watching Shuuichi and complimenting him on his progress thus far.  
  
“H-Hey Kaito. . .” He huffs, pausing for a moment to wipe his sweaty brow with his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. “No slacking today, alright? I-I’m counting your reps!”

“He still doing that?” I snort. Kaito sputters, nearly losing his balance as his arms quivered for a moment under his weight.

“H-Hey! Don't count me out yet! I’m on fire! I can easily do fifty!”

“I hope you can do the other fifty then.”

“How about you Harukawa?” Kaito calls, leaning forward a bit to see around Shuuichi. Maki supplies no response, simply counting out loud -- in the short matter of time, she’s managed to reach ninety pushups. It was clear to see by the lack of seat or exhaustion that she didn't raced through to race to complete that many push-ups in order to escape us. This was simply a far too easy exercise for someone like her

Shuuichi sputtered, staring at Maki with wide eyes while Kaito’s mouth hung open that he looked like a gaping fish. I simply snorted. Once she reached a hundred, she stood and brushed the dirt from her hands, looking totally composed.

“Y-You’re. . . done?” Shuuichi questions, out of breath.

“You’re not . . . You’re not  even out of breath. . . I guess you’re used to working out. . .?” Kaito fumbles. Maki raises a brow.

“. . .Why are you out of breath? We were hardly pushing ourselves.” Kaito awkwardly glances about, sweating just a bit more.

“B-Because I did some warm ups before coming here. . . I did five hundred push ups.” Shuuichi looked so disappointed in that excuse. He was probably wondering if that was genuinely the best possible excuse Kaito could come up with. Meanwhile, I immediately belt out with obnoxious laughter causing me to losing my balance and smash my chin against the ground.

While Kaito turns my way to make sure nothing was wrong with me Maki scoffs and informs us she will be taking her leave as she’s completed her push-ups so we have no reason to be kept here. Which is true, so we reluctantly let her her be. Kaito races over to where his button up shirt waited and presses the fabric to my bleeding chin, muttering under his breath that he doesn't understand why Maki is so difficult.

“What are you doing? I’m fine.” Which is true, given my immortal state, this injury wouldn't remain for a long time unless I willed the magic to not heal it. Kaito furrows his brows.

“Ah, c’mon, you hurt yourself. Why would I ignore that?” He sighs. “If someone is suffering, I can't just leave them.”

“Well, I’m not suffering but it’s pretty cute that you want to help me while you’re so breathless, pretty boy.” As I spoke, I slowly ease closer to Kaito to the point our chests touched and ran my hand along his sweaty but muscular arm. A grin was on my face but he looked adorable flustered as I inched closer to his face and in response to this, he inched away until he fell backwards to the point his elbows touched the ground while his face blushed an adorable red hue. Feeling happiness bubble up in my heart, I simply cupped his cheeks and kissed his forehead. “You're pretty adorable though.”

I let out a little laugh and with a smile on my face, I return to work on my push ups. Kaito, flustered and disoriented, stumbles after me to get back in place and back to work. Shuuichi lets out a quiet laugh between his push-ups while Kaito pouts a little and tries to put a bit more effort into his workout as if that would prove either of us wrong or something.  


* * *

 

  
Once Shuuichi hit one hundred, Kaito came to a stop and he climbs back to his feet without finishing his one hundred. Joining him on his feet, the sweaty Shuuichi was slouching forward a bit as he tried to fan himself off with his hand. Despite his improvement he still looked and felt exhausted after the work was done. On the other hand, while Kaito showed hints of exhaustion -- and he sweat so much his shirt was a bit transparent -- there was a proud grin on his face as sweat trailing down his cheeks, strong neck and over the visible skin of his pecks.

“Phew! We did really great today!” Kaito beams. He peels his shirt from his sweaty body by the neckline and fans himself off a bit by shaking it. Blushing, Shuuichi begins to urgently fan himself harder than before, unable to tear his eyes from his view of Kaito’s toned chest.

It’s kinda cute how much he’s crushing on with him. . .

I return to their sides, with a wide smile on my face as I offered them their coats back to them. Exhausted, Kaito smiles and kisses my cheek before wrapping an arm around Shuuichi’s shoulder, dragging him in close to rub his shoulder. Shuuichi is blushing so hard he looks like he’s going to die but Kaito hardly seems to notice as he compliments the other on the progress and work he’s made so far

“Hey, are you gonna be okay? Should I walk you to the infirmary?” Kaito inquires as we start to make our back to the dorms.

“No, it’s fine Kai-chii,” I smile. “I have a first aid kid in my room. I can easily take care of it!” He nods his head and looks back to Shuuichi, a giant glittering smile on his face.

“I’ll walk you back to your room, alright.” Shuuichi mumbles something. A strangled sound perhaps? It was pretty adorable. Cupping Shuuichi’s cheek in my hand and affectionately kiss his cheek, then turn to Kaito, kissing him on his lips, and with a smile on my face I bid them both goodnight before making my way to my room for the night.


	35. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {04}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> slams hand on piano // when u dumb af and forget to update for a week  
> also its almost shuuichis birthday  
> wow i love him

 [ **\- Miss (** ~~ **Monomi** ~~**) Aphrodite’s Practice Lesson -** ](https://youtu.be/g9R5mpVVuQ8)

**[** ** Aphrodite’s Corner** **]**

Hello darling! It’s wonderful to see you again for another lesson!

Today we shall discuss Sages and their important role in The Council! Truthfully, Gods are not as immortal as one would think! As time goes on, they can become weakened by the woes brought forth by the many lifeforms that the exist in multiverses. In return for expecting so much at a constant rate their powers shall dwindle until nothing is left.

That is where a Sage comes in. The simple definition of a Sage is an apprentice to a member of The Council. Their first and basic responsibility is to aid the God their assigned to in their job -- much like an assistant -- or keeping their trait and/or skill alive to the living, thus fueling the God. 

This is unfortunately only a temporary fix for said God. 

In time, a Sage will enter training to in order to one day inherit the job of the God. Jobs will vary from member to member -- for example, **young Melody** was sent on missions to spread hope in her days of youth by providing aid to heroes trapped in a loop and unable to complete their mission, investigate strange disturbances or join other heroes in taking down a large and unpredictable enemy.

According to the numbers, there is a slim bunch of individuals that can qualify for such a job. The following individuals are the only Sage known to exist.

  * **Mel Mallari** , _The Hari of the Cosmos_ , is a young man of Philippine-Canadian origins. Using his musical skill he is able to locate tears within time and spaces. He is the young Sage to **Lightning Farron** with **Zen** and **Rei** assisting him in the job to avoid overloading him with the volume of the cosmos. He and **Sho Minazuki** serve as bodyguards to **Khrystie Melody**.


  * **Rei** , _The Maiden of Space,_ was a terminally ill young woman that died while in surgery in the hospital. Believing she lived and died with no purpose or meaning, she died in grief, unable to pass on even after her memories were sealed away. 
  * Thanks to **Zen** , **Khrystie Melody** and her friends she was able to finally come to terms with her life and pass on where she and **Zen** were taken under the wing of **Lightning Farron** as two of her Sages, who would provide help to **Mel Mallari**.


  * **Zen** , _The Reaper of Time_ , once the God known as **Chronos** that held complete control over time and was assigned a mission to help a spirit to pass on. However, when he felt such a strong empathy for his target he chose to give up on his mission and previous godly status to remain with **Rei** , said target. In doing so he lost his memories and was given a new name by her, **Zen**.
  * Thanks to **Khrystie Melody** and her friends, they were able to help the two pass on where they were taken under the wing of **Lightning Farron** as two of her Sages, who would provide help to **Mel Mallari**.


  * **Ninigi-no-Mikoto** , _The Cub of the Shining Heavens, is the son of the goddess_ _**Amaterasu** and a dog owned by **Khrystie Melody** named **Koromaru** , and by default he is the heir to her throne. The tiny God is always eager to help and does his best to inspire a belief of gods into others in order to help his mother and serve as an ambassador between Gods and the living. _



 

  * **Yuuki Kazehaya** , _The Witch of Hope_ , is a Greek-American girl, chosen by **Khrystie Melody** , to serve as as her Sage. The Goddess found the girl in the **United Unconscious** in a moment of weakness, although she noticed a great wealth of power in the girl, she did not offer the role to her and instead comforted. 
  * This kindness lead to the young woman to speak about the Goddess of her own free will, allowing her to spread hope and happiness to other people. She became well known around the globe for what she preached but she was unfortunately killed in a Killing Game upon being found guilty of murder. . . 
  * Despite her recent death, her soul has not be found. Once it’s located, she will be official instated as the Goddess of Hope’s Sage.  
  




And then, there is  **Viktoriya** , _The Valkyrie_ , she. . . 

Oh! It seems we're out of time, until next time darling!

 

* * *

 

 

EDIT PLAYERS

        SELECT PLAYER

                >>PLAYER 02

. . .

PLAYER 02

     >>AMAMI RANTAROU

               >>SELECT PHASE

                     PHASE 01          >>PHASE 02

. . .

PLAYER 02

     >>AMAMI RANTAROU

               >>PHASE 02

               EDIT        >>DELETE         RETURN

. . .

PHASE 02 DELETED

* * *

 

**July 3rd; Day 14  
**

* * *

 

“Time for a battle royale.” I announce over breakfast. Everyone pauses eating their meals and looks up to me with utter confusion.

“What the fuck?” Ryouma questions.

“Not literally.” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips. “Whether or not we like it, we have that entire **Cultural Festival** to deal with. . . and among that, we have to choose where our events will be held and prepare for them.”

“Are you reeeeally going to do what that bear says?” Ouma wonders out loud, checking his nails.

“It’s fifty-fifty.” I dully admit. “I don't trust that bear as far as I can throw him, which in all honesty I cannot since he’ll explode like a little bitch, but I’m not feeling any malice about him wanting a simple cultural festival.”

[ **\- Mr. Monokuma’s Lesson V3 -** ](https://youtu.be/hbHe3BGP4l0)

“Yeah! All I want is a festival! Why are you brats being so complicated about it!?!”

_of course he appears because of the mere mention of him_

_jesus_

“How dare you make that face at me!” Monokuma suddenly exclaims, pointing a paw my way. “You act as if I’m something despicable! But at least _I’m_ not the one laughing at my significant other so much that I fall and scrape my chin!” Without really thinking about it, I bring my hand to my chin. There’s no real damage, just a little bruising and scabbing overnight.

“Is that was happened?” Ryouma questions. In the distance Miu cackles, her spit flying everywhere as she clutches her gut. That’s a predictable response from her. Maki rolls her eyes and Gonta looks rather relieved.

Did . . .

Did he think I was hit . . .?

Ugh. Nevermind.

Instead, I squat down besides Monokuma and wrap an arm around his plush shoulders and look him dead in his beady eyes.

“Listen, I love and adore Kaito with my heart but you can bet your damn ass that I’ll laugh _my ass off_ at his expense when he tries to use ‘I did five hundred push-ups before our workout session.’ as an excuse to get out of doing only a total of one hundred push-ups.”

“That _was_ a pretty poor excuse.” Maki snorts. Kaito looks offended to be called out like this. He gasps in utter horror and places a hand to his chest before looking to Shuuichi but he shoves a slice of tamagoyaki, thus making him unable to support Kaito. He looks so disheartened by this turn of events. I approach my boyfriend, giving him a sympathetic pat on his shoulder.

“But she’s right!” Monokuma exclaims. “You kids gotta figure out where you're gonna host your events and then get to work preparing! You got three days until **July 6th**!”

“Well, Gokuhara-kun and Kai-chii would have the gym,” I explain as I approach the whiteboard. I uncap the marker and write this down on the side of the board filled with information about this damn festival. “It’s really the only appropriate place to host a show.”

“Ooooh! I want the Game and AV Room!” Ouma exclaims, wildly waving his hand in the air. I nod my head, jotting this down.

“Hey, I want the fuckin’ fourth floor!” Miu shouts over the noise of other people discussing.

“That’s gonna be a pain to climb that many stairs all day. . .” Himiko mumbles.

“But, just about all the supplies we’ll need will be in Angie’s lab!” Angie beams. The other two seem to agree with this and decide to move forward with the idea of commandeering the entire fourth floor for their haunted house display.

“I-I think Toujou-san’s lab would be a nice backdrop for the cafe.” Shuuichi hesitantly offers. Him being a maid made perfect sense for his trepidation to suggest anything. On the other hand, Ryouma looks like he rather DIE than work in a cafe. Ikiko happily clasps her hands together in agreement and grins widely.

“I think it would be the best to host the carnival games on the second floor, the same floor as Toujou-san’s lab. People would pass it if they wanted to get to the fourth floor.” Which was true. There were no spare or empty rooms on the third floor. Only Maki and Ryouma’s lab, which probably wouldn't make for great backdrops for carnival games. . .

“Well, if everyone is going to be so spread out, perhaps the snacks would be best on the first floor as a sort of middle ground and it’s not on the same floor as the cafe to steal attention from them.” Kiibo suggests. He turns to Maki in order to gauge her reaction but Maki simply shrugs, saying it’s fine. It’s hardly a vote of confidence but it's probably the best he can get from her.

“Then, after chores, we need to get a move on preparing for the festival.” I authoritatively state as I place the marker down.

 

* * *

 

You would think picking a theme for a cafe would be simple, but it soon turned out to no be the truth at all.

Ikiko didn't have any sort of idea of what she wanted to do and simply agreed with whatever was suggested. Shuuichi was trying to help but he clearly wasn't used to this sort of thing and he seemed to be more focused on what possible costume he would be stuck in, dreading whatever it was. Ryouma was hardly any help with him looking at the ceiling with his chair tipped back. I’m pretty sure he spent most of the time dissociating.

“Cat cafe.” Ryouma suddenly announces. I blink. That _did_ sound pretty cute but I’d like to use a theme that would allow for a costume that wouldn't embarrass Shuuichi or make him feel uncomfortable. Cat and elegant would unfortunately clash. Which sucks because cat cafe would be the raddest shit ever.

“Wouldn't that make things hard to change between the themes since they contrast?” Shuuichi ponders. Ryouma leans forward, settling the legs of his chair firmly on the ground.

“We can just. . . borrow another room.” He shrugs.

“But. . . would Classroom 2-A really be sufficient for a cafe?” Ikiko softly questions.

“I mean, it depends on what you intend to do for a cat cafe.” I sigh. “Even then, how are you gonna get cats for a cat cafe?”

“I have a plan for that.” Ryouma shrugs once more. Despite his bored expression there was a twinkle in his eyes meaning he did have a legitimate plan. God knows what however. “We could borrow Gokuhara’s lab. It would make for a nice nature backdrop. Cats would look cute roaming around in there.”

Again. Where the hell would he get cats from?

“I mean, you’ll have to ask him first. . .” But Gonta being Gonta, he would allow it without much thought as long as his bugs were safe. Sighing, I cross my arms, tapping a finger against my upper arm in thought. “Well, I’m sure it will work out, but asking him _is_ a requirement. So, with themes and locations decided, Ikiko and I have to decide the menus for our respective cafes and she can write them up. Meanwhile, I can take care of designing and making the uniforms. We’ll have to draft Yonaga-chan’s help for props and decorations. . . but I’ll have to design those as well.”

“So we should split, huh?” Ryouma sighs. He’s ready to make his escape but I prevent that by removing my sewing kit from my bag and the rolled tape shoots out to wrap around his body. He looks so disappointed but he allows this to happen, most likely because as it currently stands there isn't much else he CAN do.

I pull out Yuuki’s notebook, a pencil and a pen; the pen begin to move on it’s own to record the measurements as I use the mechanical pencil to whip up a rough design of the uniforms for the respective cafes. I can dye the fabric myself using magic but if I used Toujou’s uniform as a base I can probably make something decent in a short amount of time.

**[\- Good Bearning! -](https://youtu.be/JIs46teItaQ)  
**

****“** **Rise** **and** **Shine** **,** **ur** **sine** **\--!** **”****

The door suddenly flies opens, slamming against the wall with a bang, just as the pen writes down Shuuichi’s measurements in the notebook. In comes the Monokubs, pushing numerous half body sewing mannequins, both male and female and a cart containing numerous bundles of colorful fabrics and material.

_please no._

“What is this?” I beg, my tone heavy with pain.

“You get to design eeeeeveryone’s formal clothes!” Monophanie beams, not even daring to beat around the bush. “Isn't that exciting?!”

Oh yes. Designing thirteen different outfits on top of organizing this cafe and trying to design costumes for it and the cafe itself.

This is fine.

“Oh boy. . .” Monokid cackles, spit flying everywhere, as he finds himself pleased with my miserable response. Monodam on the other hand stares at me with a paw to his mouth.

“1S-3V3RYTH1NG-0KAY?” He questions. “D0-Y0U-R3QU1R3-4SS1ST4NC3?”

“I guess.” I reluctantly sigh, resting my head on the table. “I’ll need to know if anyone has a preference for a certain dress length and neckline, what color and fabric. . . And suits are another kind of hell, because we got coat types, neckwear vests and cufflinks _and then_ I need to figure out everyone’s measurements are to make sure the formalwear are properly fitting their bodies.”

Monodam stares at me. I stare back. I’m not sure how to feel about this. . . or the fact he’s suddenly fucking _vibrating_. Thankfully, the vibrations stop and he spits a paper out of his mouth. Baffled, I pick it up to discover that its a survey; asking for names, measurements, diagrams of dress lengths and necklines, the type of footwear and accessories the person would be interested in. The next sheet of paper to come from the bear was basically the same but covered all the things I detailed about a suit and diagrams on the types of coat tails, lapels and neckwear.

This. . . This really wasn't what I expected when I said I’d love some help but, this would get the job done. Mondam prints several copies of each page, handing the ‘girls’ sheets to Monophanie and ‘boys’ to Monokid before ushering them out og the room with a chorus of:

 **“** **So** **long**! **Bear** **-** **well**! **”**

With them gone, I look down to the floor to note there are four sheets of paper on the floor, two girls and two boys. I collect them and promptly toss them. The sheets of paper uselessly flutter through the air before landing on the surface of the table.

“Yee-fucking-haw.”

I just. . . feel dead right now.

Thirteen pieces of formalwear, cafe uniforms, cafe designs and the fucking menus. _THE FUCKING MENUS._ We gotta plan the menus, design the menus and then prepare and store the food. All within **_THREE DAYS_ **. I may have magic but I’m not a goddamn miracle worker. It takes focus, time and energy to even use magic to make the funeral yukatas I make for the cremation process.

“Kazehaya-san. . .” I realize was tugging my hair the moment I register Shuuichi gently pulling my hand from my hair. “Please calm down, I know this is a lot to take in at once, but, you should focus on the cafe first and foremost and then the formal wear.”

Right. . . The dance isn't until the last night of the event. So if I break it down I can handle things and not have an actual aneurysm or something. Costumes and decorations as first priority, then menu and food and finally the formal wear.

“Right, thank you Shuuichi-kun,” I smile softly. Blushing just a bit, he returns the gesture.

“Is there anything I can do?” I bring a finger to my lips in thought and softly hum.

“Maybe you can inspect the other festival attractions.” I offer. “And you can do the job with Amami-kun.” At the mention of Amami, Shuuichi begins to blush and sheepishly look aside.

“A-Amami-kun. . . H-He mentioned you gave him ad. . .advice. . .” A blush rushes to my cheeks and I laugh a bit, glancing to the side for a moment before looking right at him. To be completely honest, didn't think Amami would make a move so quickly. I. . . kinda expected him to be way smoother about this, like take some time to talk to Shuuichi and test the waters. . . not just take my advice and immediately try to sweep him of his feet.

“Y-Yeah! I mean, he was interested in you. . . so, I just gave him advice. I don't mind if my partners have other partners?” Which is true, my first born’s father has a boyfriend and girlfriend as well -- two people I happen date as well -- and I don't mind it since that comes with polyandry. All that really matters to me is that they’re happy.

Shuuichi is, inevitably, embarrassed by my admission.

“You don't. . . mind that?” If I had to guess, he was thinking of Kaito. It’s pretty clear he likes him and I honestly think they’re pretty adorable together.

“Of course not!” I beam. “As long as there is mutual love and trust, I don't care who you're with! Your happiness is the most important thing to me!” Strangely, Shuuichi seemed. . . surprised by my words but I smile and gently stroke his cheek. “Jesus, you're so precious. . .” I softly whisper. He cheeks bloom with a bright red color and he hesitantly leans into the touch, which turns out to be utterly embarrassing once I recall we were not alone.

Ryouma snorts, placing his paper face down on the table, and he leaves the room with Ikiko in tow. Shuuichi fumbles, mumbling an apology before hurrying out of the room.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- HIKARI (2016 Piano & String Version) {COVER} -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88rWhJ7uG4)

“Hey Kiriri!” Kaito greets, throwing open the door to Toujou’s lab. There was a bright shimmering smile on his face, his eyes glittering with utter joy. I, on the other hand, look like hell. A straight pin hung from my mouth, my veil was sitting on the table surface and my hair tied up in a messy bun, but I still looked rather frazzled.

Still, in the span of the day, I managed to finish Ryouma’s uniform -- a navy top with puffy sleeves,  white collar and bow, a black sash and a large bow around the waist, a navy cupcake skirt trimmed with a thin black line. On top of the mannequin was a maid headdress with a black ribbon attached. The outfit was finished with black ribbons around the his wrists, navy stockings and black Mary Janes -- and was working on Shuuichi’s at this point in time.

His uniform was based around a Victorian uniform -- an ankle length navy-black gown with leg of mutton style sleeves that matched his hair color, a long frilly apron white cuffs and collar complemented with a navy-black ribbon. His outfit would be completed with white stockings and black Mary Janes. -- but it wasn't quite finished yet. Numerous straight pins were currently holding the outfit together and a needle was at work sewing the sleeves to the gown.

“Woah, that’s looking pretty good!”

“Yeah, I hope Shuuichi likes it.” I sigh, sicking a pin into the pin cushion attached to my wrist before removing it for the moment. “So, what brings you here Kai-chii?” With a sheepish smile, he blushes and rubs the back of his head. As he does, I realize he has a picnic basket in his other hand which only confuses me.

“I was thinking, I’d take you . . like on a date?” He sheepishly admits. I stare at him with blank expression for several moments before my face explodes with red. I put a hand on my cheek and bashfully smile.

“T-That’s so cute. I’d love that Kai-chii!”

“C-Cute?” He repeats, a tad baffled.

“You made a picnic basket and everything!” He continues to blush, glancing aside with a fist resting on his hip.

“W-Well yeah, you didn't show up for dinner. . . so, I made you something and I thought we could sit under the stars together. A smile spreads across my face and I eagerly bound over to his side to take his hand. Kaito is a little surprised by how I threw myself at him, but a smile quickly stretched across his face as he regains his balance and he wraps his free arm around my waist to pull me in for a hug.

With a smile on my face, I take his hand and we walk down the halls of the school and out into the courtyard. With Monophanie’s work clearing away the debris, Kaito found a nice spot on the grass. He sets the basket down and pulls out . . . a spare flat sheet to spread out on the ground. Once it settles on the ground, he kneels down and flattens out any wrinkles on the sheet and sits down. He then offers a hand to me, eagerly pulling me down beside him the moment I place a hand in his own.

I sheepishly smile, my cheeks flushed red as I tuck a strand of long pearly white hair behind my ear.

“You like shrimp, right?” He questions as he reaches into the basket.

“Yeah. I like seafood in general.” I confirm, trying to get a peek into the basket as well but Kaito is far too big for me to see past, plus the fact he noticed I was trying to look inside he was more than eager to block my line of vision.

A grin splits across his face and he eagerly reveals what he was hiding, a small plate with four rice balls.

“Alright! I made tenmusu!” I stare at the food for several moments before peeling away the plastic and take one. I hate to admit it but -- I have doubts that Kaito can cook. At least without someone coaching him or as long as it isn’t anything relatively complex.

Still, he put in the effort so I couldn’t just reject his food. I take a rice ball in hand and bite into it. The rice was just right and it tasted absolutely perfect with the crispy tempura shrimp and the nori wrapped around the rice. I eagerly take another bite and another until it’s all gone.

“Wow,” I breath with disbelief. “It tastes so good!” I quickly reach for another one and happily eat it up.

“What? Did you think you couldn't cook?” He questions with a laugh as he grabs his own rice ball. I blush a bit and rub the back of my head awkwardly.

“I didn't expect it to be honest.” I confess. He frowns, giving me a hard look before sighing.

“Well, I guess that’s fair. I don't really look the part--”

“More like _act_ the part.” I snort. He rolls his eyes before letting out a sigh, resting his free arm on his knee and baking his head on his palm.

[ **\- Heartless Journey -  
** ](https://youtu.be/1vXEP7djl2s)

“Yeah, well, since my grandparents raised me, I feel like I have to pay them back, you know? Little things like cooking, cleaning or getting them gifts.” That. . . I can’t say I expected that. At the same time, I guess that’s an understandable response. Kaito has never spoke about his grandparents, well maybe a few times in passing but he never indicated that they raised him.

“. . .They raised you?”

“Yeah. . . When I was young. . .” He begins softly. . . but I can tell he’s struggling to speak. “We, my family, we went on a trip together and. . .” I carefully place a hand on his forearm, giving him a gentle squeeze, and look at him with sad sympathetic eyes.

“Kaito, you don’t have to talk about this. . .” He gently takes my hand from his forearm, carefully holding onto it and looks into my eyes. I can see that his are full of  pain. This has to be a pain that he’s kept hidden for so long.

“I _want_ to tell you. It’s just. . . hard. I’ve never told anyone any of this before. A hero. . . A hero isn’t supposed to mope. They’re supposed to hold their head up high and help others through their problems. Or at least that’s what I thought until I met you.” He laughs weakly, holding my hand a little tighter. “You are the true definition of a hero and you _literally are_ a hero.”

“Heroes are still, you know, human. They can get upset too. Losing your family is hard, no matter who you are. If you _didn’t_ feel pain I’d be afraid you were either denying it or too numb to the pain of loss.” Kaito looked at me for a long time and I was afraid that I said something wrong but the moment I opened my mouth to make sure he was okay, tears slowly bubbled forward in his eyes. His arms suddenly shot out to grab me and pull me tight to his chest, which rattled with his sobs.

“I-I miss them so much Tea. . .” He whispers softly. He holds me a little tighter, his face pressed to the crook of my neck. I carefully lift my arms and gently stroke his hair in an attempt to help sooth him.

“We just, we were coming back from a fucking festival. All four of us and some _asshole_ ran a red alight.” A few moments pass, the only sound between us being him quietly sobbing and a sound of him choking on his own tears, stroke his back as I patiently wait for him to continue. “He had an alcohol level way above the limit. He smashed right into the car, killing my parents instantly. And I. . .”

He pauses as if he’s uncertain how to continue this line of conversation. Words seem to be complicated so instead, he hesitantly takes one of hands and leads it to his head. His shaking hands cautiously pressed my fingertips to. . . a strange patch of skin. It’s raised just compared to the rest around it. If I had to guess it was probably a Hypertrophic scar. . .

“I got a really bad head injury.” He confesses. I blink, tearing my attention away from the scar and back to his miserable expression. “The doctors even said I have retrograde amnesia. . . So I. . . I couldn’t remember what my own _family_ looked like. . . I just had to take the hospital’s word when they said these two elderly people in my room were my grandparents when they came to visit me.”

“I bet that was hard for your entire family. . .” I softly murmur but Kaito shakes his head.

“No, my moms side of her family disowned her because she married my father and he was an only child. The only family we had was them.”

“. . . Who is we? You mentioned there were four people in the car before. What happened to them?” Kaito bites his lip, looking hesitant to continue but he concedes, softly sighing.

“I have a brother. A twin brother.” My brain sputters for a few moments as I find myself unable to make an a actual response. That. . . I don't really know _what_ I was expecting, but it wasn't him having a twin brother out there. “Or had. I don’t . . . I don’t know where he is now.”

“You don’t?” I repeat confused by this concept. What exactly happened to cause them to be separated. Shouldn't he be with his He nods.

“My grandparents were retired when the accident happened. They didn’t exactly have the money -- or rather, the budget -- to take in two kids at the same time. With my injury, they saw me as a higher priority so they took me in first. At this time, I didn’t even _know_ I had a brother. They didn’t say anything to avoid stressing me out and causing me pain but a few years later, with the budget reorganized and with them taking small part time jobs they went to adopt him from the orphanage he was dropped off at to discover he and a few other kids ran away. No one knew where they went. . . .”

Oh.

Shit.

Jesus. Honestly, this _wasn't_ the childhood I was expecting. When I look at Kaito I expected a vibrant and colorful life where he was surrounded by so many people that loved him, but the reality is a troubled and lonely childhood. He loss his parents at a young age, was probably without friends because he was raised by his grandparents and he completely lost all ties with his own brother. Maybe. . . he felt he had to become a beacon of light for his own grandparents after the tragedy they face, which in turn lead to a hero complex. Whatever the reason is, he’s most likely ignored how painful and heavily weighed down on his heart. . .

Kaito sobs, letting free the pain he’s been holding back for so long in his life. He chokes on his tears, sniffling pitifully as he presses his face to my shoulder. I gently bring a hand to his heaving and trembling backside, gently patting and rubbing him to help calm him down.

And for a moment, it seems like it working but Kaito suddenly ceases up and a sharp gasp escapes him. He immediately begins sobbing once more, much more desperately than before, clutching me as if he was afraid I was going to vanish any moment.

“I-I don't . . . I don't remember. . . wh-when did they tell me about Aki. . .? It was before . . . before something. . .” This struck me as immensely odd. I might have brushed this off as him in a hysterical state if it wasn't for the fact Ikiko said something like that too.

 

* * *

 

_“What happened to you afterwards?” I softly question. “You were living on you own. . . No family at all. . . too young to have a job, I guess?”_

_“Yeah.” Ikiko nods. “When our parents died we had good neighbors that would help us and onee-chan would find a job. I was too young to do anything. . . so I did as onee-chan requested, I lived life as happily as I possibly could. . . But when she died, the same thing happened. I was old enough to get a job but the neighbors still helped me. . .until recently. . . when I. . .” A baffled look crossed Ikiko’s face. She repeats ‘when I’ again and again, yet, clearly unable to connect this thought to a proper memory._

_“. . .When did things change. . . ?” She finally whispers in a forlorn tone. Her eyes are hazy eyes and her expression is just. . . confusion. It’s almost like there’s a hole in her memory. But why? Why would there be a hole in her memory in that point in time?_

* * *

 

That’s twice so far. . .  What was that phrase? Once would be an accident, twice is a coincidence but three times is an enemy action? That sounds about right.

It seems to fit the scenario rather well. To be frank, the only thing that is clear is that people are forgetting _more_ than the circumstances that brought them here. Like important events or important information, but why would those specific memories be tampered with?

I push the thought aside for a moment and instead focus all my attention on Kaito. I proceed to hold him close to my body, gently stroking his hair and kissing the crown of his head, whispering soft soothing words. Somehow, after so much struggling, he finally calms down; his red, tear stained cheeks are cupped in my hands and I gently pull him in for a soft kiss. He desperately clings to me, bringing his shaking hand to my cheeks to order to drag me back in for another kiss that he tries to pour everything he has into.

Perhaps he’s trying to feel something. To confirm this is all real.

“Isnt it pathetic. . .?” His voice is so soft, it trembles with so much grief and sadness and his expression is so pained. He gently rests his forehead against my own, his sad eyes looking into my own. “I can't. . . I can remember my own family. . .”

“Kaito, that isn't pathetic.” I softly assure him. “You have retrograde amnesia. . . you honestly can't remember these things. That doesn't make you a bad person and you clearly still love them, even if you can't remember. . .!” Kaito looked like he wanted to argue this point, but in doing so would only open another can of worms for him and he didn't want to deal with that.

That was perfectly fine. I think unloading as much as he has was stressful enough. There was no need to hurt himself more.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- HIKARI (2016 Piano & String Version) {COVER} -** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88rWhJ7uG4)

“I’m sorry for ruining our date Kiriri. . .” Kaito sighs, lowering a piece of his hamburger stake back into his bento. I lift my head, giving him an odd look before swallowing down the rice in my mouth.

“What are you talking about? It’s not ruined.” He side eyes me for a moment, a distasteful grimace on his face.

“How can you say that? I was trying to help you unwind but I dumped that load of baggage on you. . . isn't that annoying?” I let out a snort, which makes him look to me with utter confusion. Hands on my hips, I twist to the side in order to give him a rather serious expression.

“Kaito, I don't mind listening to your burdens. Especially if you want to listen to mine, or anyone else’s, for that matter. You have not become a lesser person in my eyes because of this, if anything, you’ve become greater because you’ve made it clear you have so much trust in me.” Smiling, I lean against his shoulder and after a moment of hesitation he wraps his arms around my shoulders to bring me closer and kissing the crown of my head.

“Jesus Kiriri. . . How the hell did I end up with you. . .?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh,” I obnoxiously reply. “Being yourself.” There’s a dorky expression on my face, which makes Kaito snort, he places his hand on my face and playfully pushes me away. I pitifully whine, clinging to his arm. “Noooo . . . I luv youuuu. . . ..  you can't get rid of me that easily.” Kaito suddenly pulls me back in, practically smothering me in his chest.

“God, I hope not. . .” He whispers softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also hey bad headcanons about kaito,  
> who is this brother??  
> maybe someday the answer will come


	36. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {05}

[ **\- Miss (** ~~ **Monomi**~~ **) Aphrodite’s Practice Lesson -** ](https://youtu.be/g9R5mpVVuQ8)

**[** **Aphrodite’s Corner** **]  
**

Oh my! You're back so soon!

That’s perfectly fine!

Today, I have a very special lesson today!

It’s about  **Viktoriya** , the very first Sage to be apart of  **The Council** !

To be honest, **Viktoriya** ’s inclusion to **The Council** is a bit. . . unique.

In the beginning, **Dilaria** and **Shizune** were the only members of **The Council** , and once they realized that their powers were dwindling, **Dilaria** created new gods to supervise the life she and her sister created. Among those Gods created was myself, **Aphrodite**.

As ages past and the **Prime Goddesses** grew weaker, I made a request; I wanted a child of my very own but because of the old rules that once stood in place, I could not go to the mortal realm to find a partner. Thankfully, **Dilaria** possessed a great love for all the Gods she created alongside her sister. She loved and adored them as her own children, so she had no qualms crafted a one of a kind and unique soul to make my wish come true.

And that was the day the soul of **Viktoriya** was born.

I loved and adored **Viktoriya** with all my heart. She was a beautiful little girl that I wished to cherish and hold always. . . but I knew I could not keep her in the realm of the Gods forever. As much as I loved her, I knew if she was to truly flourish and find happiness, she would have to live among the humans as well.

It was a hard decision to make, but even now, millenniums later, I still believe that it was the best thing I could do for my child. I left her in the care of a family that strongly believed in my work and frequently visited shrines dedicated to me. They too loved and adored her, even more so as the woman had problems conceiving her own child. **Viktoriya** was the greatest blessing they could have and I was happy for them.

As I hoped, my precious **Viktoriya** was loved and adored by many for her kindness, a loving heart and compassionate nature. Many people tried to pursue her hand as their partner, but she was as free as a bird and chose to dedicate her life to protecting others instead.

Although crime was non-existant, or even a _concept_ , the people had a force dedicated to helping and protecting others. So, when natural disaster struck, **Viktoriya** was always quick to mobilize to help those in need. She could sometimes be so reckless; but to her, that didn't bother her much if she could save a life.

Such was her way of life until her demise and she went out with a smile. . . She easily passed **Satan** ’s examination and was to face. . . the **Final Death** . . .a concept that existed before the **Gray Gardens** and the **Reincarnation Process** existed.

Given the fact I gave up my daughter to live among mortals, she was intended to meet the fate where their souls expire and wither away, but I simply could not accept that. I begged with  **Dilaria** , I begged and pleaded for there to be a way to keep my daughter with me.

. . . **Dilaria** . . . She. . . She used all that remained of her powers to grant my selfish wish, and created a new system where a God could find a student, educate and raise them to become the next coming of a God and these new Gods could leave **Council Landing** to directly interact with the worlds and the lives they were effecting.

I was truly and genuinely happy to unite with my daughter at long last, but my selfish wish resulted in the death of one of the **Prime Goddesses**. . . The guilt I’ve felt over these millions upon millions of years haven’t faded in the slightest.

. . .

. . . I truly miss my little **Viktoriya**. . .

 

* * *

 

 

EDIT PLAYERS

SELECT PLAYER

        >>PLAYER 03

. . .

PLAYER 03

>>CHABASHIRA TENKO

>>SELECT PHASE

         PHASE 01           >>PHASE 02

 . . .

PLAYER 03

>>CHABASHIRA TENKO

>>PHASE 02

EDIT        >>DELETE         RETURN

. . .

PHASE 02 DELETED

 

* * *

  **July 4th; Day 15**

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/u8Rq8MjAKkQ)

After the date I had with Kaito, we retreated to his room for the evening and spent the night in each other’s arms. It was nice to be cradled in his arms and know we were close enough that he could share such important and intimate parts of his past.

It filled me with genuine happiness. . . However, When morning came, I slipped out of his room and returned to Toujou’s lab to return to work. With my magic and presents in the room once more, tools and fabric floated in the air and begin to assemble themselves in according to my sketches.

Once the maid uniforms are complete, I quickly roll the mannequins to the side and make a beckoning motion with my fingers to bring two new half body mannequins forward. Dark red fabric drapes over one of the half bodies while a pale pink flutters in place on the other. The tape measures immediately take the measurements from Miu and Maki’s sheets and adjust the length of the fabrics accordingly.

White fabric chalk glides over the the fabric, giving shape to the ideal dress the girls wanted -- a dark red sheath gown with a halter neckline and a simple slit that would reach above her knees to give her room to walk around freely without exposing too much skin. In addition to this, a black shawl made with light material was draped over the shoulders of the mannequin.

Miu’s dress took a little more more to bring to life, it began as a simple pale pink tea length gown with a sweetheart neckline but layers of white lace made the knee length skirt fuller, gimmering clear rhinestones attached to the top along with a white bow, a purple sash wrapped around the waist and a pair of pearly white gloves.

With all the pieces of fabric assembled, the needles threaded the appropriate color and quickly got to work stitching the clothes together. I would have liked to finalize the sketches of design for the room but I had to focus on the dresses to prevent the designs from meshing together or create something else all together.

However, fate had other plans.

The door to the lab suddenly flew open, and was quickly slam shut. I reel around to find Amami’s back pressed against the door, fumbling to lock the door behind him. He looked. . . shaken. Concerned, I make a chopping motion with my hands, causing the magic to stop creation of the dresses, and swiftly approached him.

As I did, I realized something. . . and so much about Amami’s hesitance to dress out for the pool party and favoritism to baggy clothes made so much sense. I am. . . A Fool. Of course I had no way to realize this before, but, given how many trans individuals I’ve met before you’d think by now connecting the dots would have been so much easier.

But I’m infamously BAD at reading between the lines at times that I really WON'T know unless I’m told otherwise.

Now I stand before Amami, my hand awkwardly twitching as it scrambles to figure out what to say and how to approach the situation. He looks. . . completely uncertain on how to approach anything, timid even and his fingers shakily grasp at his shoulder -- or rather a most likely torn or stretched strap of his binder.

“So, do you need a replacement?” I gently ask. He remains silent for several moments, he looks hesitant to say anything, much less look at me. “Amami-kun, it’s fine. . . your secret would be safe with me.” An awkward smile appears on his face, carefully lowering his hand.

“N-No, I know you wouldn’t. . . Honestly, I came to you. . . because you’re. . . well. . .”

“Queer as hell.” A small smile appears on his face with the tiniest laugh behind his closed fist he brought to his face.

“Yes. Queer as hell.” After a moment of hesitation, I carefully takes his hand and lead him to a seat at the table waiting in the center of the room. “So, am I right in assuming it’s a binder that’s the issue?” Slowly, Amami nods his head. I bring a finger to my lip in thought. I'm sure Amami would want to avoid having me stare at his chest like a dumbass, so I should try and see if can fix the binder before resorting to converting one of my spares to his measurements.

The moment I notice the four panel divider in the room, originally brought in by the cubs for fittings, I quickly unfold it and direct Amami behind it.

“Here, change behind here and then give me your binder once it’s off” I explain as I round the panel divider to give him the space and privacy he needs. “Is there anything else about it you wanna fix? Like, is it too tight or too loose?” The rummaging of clothes stops for a moment, followed by a heavy sigh.

“I. . . It’s . . . My chest is bigger now. . .” With quiet disgust and disappointment he clarifies in a mutter that his breasts have grown larger. The binder is tossed over the top of the divider with a heavy sigh. I quickly collect it, running my fingers over the material.

. . .

I don’t have the same material for the binder on hand unfortunately. So this means I’ll have to adjust one of my own binders. This is so fucking embarrassing. Jesus.

“Alright, so, one strap is stretched out and this front zipper looks. . .” I pause, trying to find the right word. There was only one and it was simply: “Shit.”

“So you can’t. . . fix it?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it with the improper material I have on hand.”

“I guess I could use bandages then. . .” Amami sighs.

“That’s not safe.” I immediately counter. He softly laughs.

“Perhaps, but I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s unnecessary. . .” I sigh. He makes a confused sound in response. “I mean, I can just adjust one of my own binders for your size.”

“You have a binder?” He sounds rather surprised by this, but I can't quite blame him for that. I’ve never shown it or mentioned it to anyone before and to be honest, I don't wear it frequently. Really, only when I don't want to deal with my chest or for certain undercover jobs.

Giving it to Amami seems like the better option as well, he needs it, and he’d get way more use out of it than I would so it would essentially be a win win situation.

“Yeah, but I don’t use it frequently enough and I do have a spare. So it should be easy enough to fit it for you since. . . well, my chest is bigger. I just need to properly measure your bust and under bust and then I can fit it to the right size.” Amami was silent for several moments before sighing and I point to the length of measuring tape on the table. “I’ll let the tape to the job. I’m sure you rather not have me stare at your chest like a dumbass.”

“I-I’m sure you wouldn't. . .” He laughs awkwardly as the tape coils around his chest. On the other hand, I let out a laugh while searching the bottomless pit that's my purse.

“I mean, I wouldn't intentionally. You are taller than me and I think I would accidentally get a good look at your chest if I tried to measure you personally.” I fumble, with my cheeks flushed red. Didn’t help that I was an ass and chest person too. Amami’s ass wasn’t banging like Shuuichi’s but it was, uh, pretty cute. . . and a nice soft chest to lay on when with your partner in bed was pretty fucking great?

The tape measurer comes back to me, reporting a 85 cm for bust and about. . . 63cm for the underbust. That’s an early D cup, 30D if I remember right. Definitely smaller than me who’s a stupid ass has 36E -- the size is mostly due to pregnancy however . . . So, I would have to cut about fifteen or so cm. . .

I quickly shake my head -- deciding I’m probably making this way more complicated than it needs to be and instead grab the tailor chalk to draw a dotted line on the fabric of the black binder I pulled from my bag. The dotted line runs up the left side and to the armpit of the fabric, which the scissors eagerly follow.

“Put this on,” I order tossing the binder over the divider. Amami’s hands shoot up to grab the bundle of cloth but. . . I have a very good feeling he’s just looking at it with utter confusion.

“What did you _do_?”

“I’m not done.” I huff. “I figured it would be easier to cut along the side and use pins to figure out how much is too tight or not. I can't exactly keep cutting it up to make sure its not tight or anything.”

“Ah. . . I suppose that’s true. . .” His admission is followed by the sound of ruffling fabric before he walks out from behind the divider. His cheeks are flushed red as he tries to hold the binder close in order to avoid giving me some side boob with the way it’s cut. I give him a gentle smile before strapping the floral design pin cushion to my wrist and extracting a few pins from it. Working from the top of the cut I created, I pinch the material of the binder, pulling it taught yet lose enough that it didn't crush Amami’s chest.

[ **\- You Are Enough -** ](https://youtu.be/wPZ29zcuZpU)

“You know, you nearly gave Shuuichi a heart attack when you called him cute.” I bring up while I work. Amami blinks, an awkward smile growing on his face as he lifts a hand to rub the side of his head.

“So he told you about my failure of an endeavor to woo him?”

“I wouldn't call it a failure.” I hum. “He didn't really expect it. I think he’s just not use to the idea of a poly relationship yet. . . from the way he talks about it I’m his first partner.” Amami looks genuinely surprised by this.

“You can't be serious! He’s such a wonderful person! How could he have never been in a relationship before?! He’s so kind, thoughtful and generous!” This is. . . ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. Amami never got into the reasons why he was attracted to Shuuichi before when he asked for my advice but listening him right now was the most charming thing ever. He just seemed so genuine and determined to make Shuuichi see it himself.

“I’m sure he’ll warm up to it,” I assure him with a smile while gently patting him on the back. “you’ll have to be a little more gentle with it. . . like ease him into a friendship before being forward with your intentions. The foundation of a relationship is built upon a friendship after all!”

“Is that so?” Amami says with a rather thoughtful voice. Like genuinely thoughtful as if he hasn’t realized this until now. I pause my work to give him a baffled look. He. . . He couldn't. . .

“Have you. . . never dated anyone before either. . .?” He chuckles softly and glances away while he awkwardly rubs the back of his head. Now _he’s_ the sheepish and embarrassed one. I couldn’t believe his shit. “Are you serious?!” I boom he lets out an awkward chuckle.

“I know I don’t look like it . . . but it’s true. . . I haven’t even held hands with someone outside my family . . .”

“W h a t ?” I’m completely baffled by this news. Why have all the boys I’ve gotten close to so far have like zero romantic experience? With Amami being so goddamn handsome, charming and an all around great person to hang around with, I expected him having at least one partner. “You’ve honestly never dated anyone?!”

“I know, despite my playboy appearances, I’ve never gone on a date.” He says that with so much self depreciation that my face falls a bit.

“Anyone that thinks of you as a playboy is an idiot.” I deadpan. “You’re such a sweet, considerate and reliable person.” Red spreads across his cheeks before a timid but happy smile spreads across his face as he rubbed the back of his head once more.

“A-Are you sure. . .? That’s really sweet of you to say. . .” Now I’m blushing like a doofus and an awkward laugh escapes me. I give a gentle shove to his shoulder before sticking in the final pin.

“There,” I smile, looking up to his eyes. His face was still a bright red color . . . but there was something also like a quiet admiration in his eyes. Bashful, I glance away, brushing some strands of hair behind my ear. “H-How does it feel? Too tight? Lose? Or anything?”

“Ah, no actually, it feels pretty good. . .” I nod my head, before stepping back to give him the necessary space to stretch and move around a bit to ensure the binder did properly fit. After confirming once more that everything was okay I call for a thread and needle in order to perform a simple slip stitch. No one but Amami would be looking at the binder but I doubt he would want to see the stitching himself so a slip stitch would do the job to make sure it wasn't visible.

“There, everything is okay now,” I beam. Amami looks back to me with a warm and genuine smile plastered on his face. He turns away for a moment to pull his shirt back on a faces me once more, his expression still so soft and warm. It’s. . . It’s incredibly embarrassing.

“Thank you. . . I really mean it. . .”

“What? Don't worry about it, it’s no problem! There was really no reason to not help yo-” My brain immediately screeches to a halt as he leaned forward, gently holding my right cheek, and pressed a soft kiss to my left cheek. If I was a computer, I definitely just hit a Blue Screen of Death. Amami didn't really seem to notice as he whispered a soft goodbye and thank you one more before unlocking the door and exiting the room.

I dumbly stood there, not entirely sure if what just happened was real or not.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/u8Rq8MjAKkQ)

Ryouma is in no way surprised that the fourth floor looks like its own special state of hell but that's expected with the three running the event on the floor. Nevertheless, it made looking for Miu a mess. Yonaga had no intention of actually talking to him, he assumes its because of his history, she just. . . uncomfortably stared at him.

Yumeno took temporary control of Hekoten’s lab for the time being. She was working over a large cauldron, which contained a bubbling and smoking crimson liquid, pouring god knows what into it. She looks up from her work and gives him an unreadable expression. He quickly, but quietly, closes the door and walks away.

He then finally finds Iruma in one of the three rooms with the rickety floor. She’s building something, god knows what, but she had no idea he was here as she was too busy with her work to bother to notice. She could end up dead as hell with her lack of observation skills. . .

He waits for the noise of whatever she’s working to die down before in order to rap his knuckles against the door. Miu immediately squeaks, dropping her tools to the floor in a panic and she reels around with a frightened look. Her expression quickly fall’s as she noticed Ryouma’s unimpressed expression.

“Hey, Iruma, I need a bunch of robot cats.” It's a simple enough request.

“Why the fuck would you need that?” But of course, Miu makes an issue about this. Ryouma deeply sighs. He can already see how this will end badly.

“What fucking cat cafe does not have cats?” He questions in a rather serious tone. A beat passes before he adds; “Also for my LIFE because they are important to me Iruma.” in an equally as serious tone. As expected, Iruma finds a way to make this dirty.

“So you like PUSSY, huh?” Why. Why is she like this.

“And cock but that’s besides the point.” His tone is deadpan. Inevitably Iruma is surprised by this simple admission he just gave her but he really doesn’t care. He has no issues with admitting he’s bisexual. He’s known this for a long time.

“Yeah, no,” Iruma scoffs, regaining the remains of her cool. Somehow. “I got that from watching you drool over bug boy's big tits all the time.” Ryouma narrows his eyes. That’s the stupidest thing he’s ever heard. Gonta is a good and genuine person, even if his simple friendship with him was strange given the kind of person he is. But implying he _likes_ Gokuhara? Blasphemous.

“And we all know you sleep in Kazehaya’s room so shut your fucking mouth.” He quips. Iruma immediately recoils, her face flushed red and she looks like she’s want to die in a hole or something.

“How did you. . .” She whimpers. Ryouma squints his eyes in disbelief. This is something that _everyone_ knew at this point in time thanks to the previous trial.

“She mentioned it in the last trial or were you too lost in her eyes to realize that?” He deadpans. “Now get me some goddamn cats. And make sure they’re different breeds.”

“I. . . h. . . how the fuck am I supposed to know about different breeds?!” She feebly demands, completely at a loss about what she is supposed to do now. Ryouma sighs, rolling his eyes, and muttering under his breath.

“Geez. . .There’s a book on cats in the library.”

“U-Unless you're talking about a breeding kink. . .” Miu breaks out into her usual loud ugly boisterous laughter. “I bet you'd like that wouldn't you you fucking gremlin!” His expression twists into something of absolute and utter disgust. Of course. Of course she would ruin everything like this. Jesus Fucking Christ. His expression never leaves, burning into Iruma’s brain, even as he slides out of the room.

He’s going to make it hell for her to get that book now.

. . .

Ryouma arrives at the basement level of the school, grumbling under his breath with his candy cigarette in hand. He stomps over to the library with the intention of collecting the book and handing it over to Ouma but the front door is locked. He grunts in annoyance before stomping over to the side door to find that the hall between the game room and library was currently walled off.

So he has absolutely no access to the library. He grunts, making some frustrated hand gestures, before storming over to the game room. He slides the door open with annoyance, causing it to slam against the frame with a bang. Another bang follows and then the familiar sound of Ouma’s loud and exaggerated crying.

Ryouma’s face screams death.

He waits a few moments, watching the other male look at him with watery eyes and makes his sniffling sounds. He’s already so tired but he just waits for Ouma to finish his bit, which he thankfully does the moment he notices that Ryouma doesn’t care.

“Ouma,” He sighs deeply. “I need you to do me a favor.” Ouma suddenly slaps his hands on his cheeks, loudly gasping.

“Hoshi-chan? Whatever could you want from little old me~~~?” Ryouma squints his eyes. God. Why is he like this?

“Yeah,” He sighs. “I need Iruma to pick up the book on cats from the library but, she said something disgusting so I want to make it hell for her.” It a simple enough explanation and knowing Ouma’s dislike for her sexual nature he would most likely immediately jump on board.

“Awwww, that's no fun. . .” Ouma whines in disappointment. He brings a finger to his lip with amusement and perhaps malicious glee. “What's in it for me?”

“Cats.” There was zero hesitation in his answer and his expression was completely and utterly serious. If this whole robot cat thing worked out, he would give one whole cat to Ouma for his efforts of making Iruma’s life a living hell.

“That was a lie. I'd love to make her squ-” Honestly, the other’s answer came so quick it genuinely took Ouma a moment to process it. His mouth is a gape just a bit and he’s staring at the other with confusion with his arms limply at his side. “Cats?” He repeats.

“Cats.” Ryouma confirms.

“And what exactly do you mean by cats?” Ouma presses, still completely baffled by what the other was trying to bribe him with. Cats. Where the hell was Ryouma going to get cats from? How would he even feed them? Does this hell hole even have food for cats? Ryouma simply shrugs his shoulders.

“I mean, they’ll be robot cats, but cats nonetheless.” Ah. Now it was coming together in Ouma’s head. Robot cats. So he asked Iruma to make some cats but she said something to piss Ryouma off so much that he came to him for help to make her experience worse. An amused and yet twisted grin stretches across Ouma’s face.

“Ooooh, you are just merciless today~!” He teases. Ryouma sighs, pulling his beanie down just a bit to create a vicious shadow over his face,

“I just want some goddamn cats and she had to be disgusting. . .” He mutters. The disappointment was clear in his voice. He genuinely wanted some cat companions in his life, robot or not, but this was Iruma he was talking about so of course this would happen but that doesn't make it any less disgusting and disheartening. . . Ouma lets out a sigh, the back of his hand to his forehead while his head is dramatically tilted back.

“First I have to sadly let Saihara-chan know that he's being replaced and you're my new boyfriend.” Ryouma just . . . gives him this tired look. How Kazehaya can handle this boy, and actually _teach_ him anything about magic, and not lose her mind is beyond him. Also, him dropping his feelings for Saihara? That’s just as likely as him not lying anymore. He’s so obviously infatuated with the detective after all, calling him his beloved and everything and he didnt miss how he blushed when Saihara stood up to him during the first trial.

“We both know that’s a lie.” He sighs. Ouma playfully puts his hands on his cheeks and tilts his head with curiosity. Ryouma sighs deeply once more. “That I’m your new boyfriend. I’m no one's boyfriend.” Unexpectedly, Ouma slides right up Ryouma and he hugs the smaller male to his chest. Being gathered in the other’s arms cause him to drop his candy cigarette on the carpet and he’s unfortunately at a complete loss about how to properly react to this.

“Awww Hoshi-chan don't be so cruel to yourself!” Ouma coos. “Sure you're an ugly gremlin with no one who loves you in the whole world but that doesn't mean that you can't find someone~~” Immediately Ryouma is filled with regret. He honestly has no idea how Kazehaya deals with him and to be frank, it just downright baffles him.

[ **\- Nightmare in the Locker -** ](https://youtu.be/DSN7cGb_nKE)

And he voices just that under his breath; which, unfortunately, Ouma can hear. The Supreme Leader releases him, thank God, and cheerfully giggles without a care in the world. If it wasn't for what he was privy to, he would have thought nothing more about that. There’s a small hint of discomfort in that sound and his smile . . . isnt quite right.

Huh. . . How long has this kid been messed up and how long have they failed to see this as he forced them all away from him? Kazehaya really didn't give him details, but the way she acted. . . it said it was too long.

“The same way as everyone else obviously. Why would onee-chan be any different?” Ouma tilts his head, poking his own cheek as he speaks. It’s almost childish and a bit endearing. It helps put him at ease knowing that there’s still some genuine childish charm despite whatever trauma he’s faced. Ryouma huffs, glancing to the side as he pulls out a new candy cigarette from the box inside his coat.

“I donno about that, she was pretty open to you from the beginning. She _was_ the one that organized that birthday party for you. . . I dont think she realizes it but she does gush about you during our conversations. Besides, everyone knows you snuck into her or Momota's room during the time you lost your talent.” Ouma lets out a playful giggle, a smile spreading across his face.

“Awwww! You expect me to believe a lie that crappy after being so mean to you! How cute. . .” There it is. The crippling doubt that others care for him. His smile never fades as he placing his hands on the backside of his head. “And why would I sleep with either of those lovebirds? That’s so disgusting!” There’s such a thick venom in his words that Ryouma can’t help but raise a brow. He _knows_ he heard Momota complaining about how Ouma snuck into his room one night.

“. . . I should have figured you were the fake it until you make it kind of guy.” He sighs. Really that was obvious. But hearing that someone cared for him would be too bizarre for him. He probably thought if he ignored it long enough it would become the truth because she would be forced to give it up.

“Oh, am I?” Ouma challenges.

“Yeah.” It’s a rather flat answer that was stated with no hesitation. “Everyone knows how scared you are under that facade.”

“Oooor maybe switching talents just allowed me to perfect a different facade than normal?” Ouma playfully teases, poking Ryouma’s nose. There’s a prideful smile on his face as he spreads his arms out before the other. “Perhaps this version of me is the true me!”

“Sheesh. . . It’s fine if you were scared.” Ryouma lets out a sigh, fiddling with his beanie. “Kazehaya didn't go into detail but it’s pretty obvious in retrospect that whatever happened messed you up, I don't know what it is, but dont worry her. Just talk to her if something comes up, alright? She clearly cares for your wellbeing.”

“Aww,” Ouma’s voice is sickly sweet as he clasps his hands together and puts on that mockingly innocent smile. “That's the last thing I wanna do~”

“Sure thing, just make Iruma’s life hell when she comes for the book.” With that said, Ryouma withdraws from the room. Taking several steps from the door, he lets out a heavy sigh and leans against the wall for support. After that. . . he’d kill for a real cigarette. Actually approaching and offering help to Ouma was much harder than he ever anticipated. . . but he’s pretty sure Kazehaya can help him.

Somehow.

* * *

[ **  
\- Haru yo Koi { COVER } -** ](https://youtu.be/BS6OXW_VlJ8)

“A-Amami-kun. . .?” Shuuichi hesitantly calls as he opens the door to Classroom 2-B. As he expected, Amami-kun was inside the room, hard at work setting up his carnival games. He was more than a bit surprised to see had a few of his stands already set up. Perhaps Angie left behind some plans from when she was supposed to take care the carnival games and Amami-kun was able to assemble her work with ease.

All of the student desks have been removed from the classroom, most likely placed in temporary storage with the help of the Monokubs.

Against the farthest left wall was a festival like stand with a large empty tub. If Shuuichi had to guess it was a stand for a game of yo-yo tsuri. On the right hand side of the northern wall was another stand,with a counter and a large empty square area, numerous red strings were visible but with how the both was setup, there was no way to tell which string was attached to what. Not that it mattered since there were no prizes attached to the strings at the moment.

Still, two stands is a bit of a small number. . .

Shuuichi looks around once more, he notices Amami-kun laying on the floor, running a pen over a paper. He’s so busy he doesn't seem to notice the other until Shuuichi steps closer. It’s only then Amami-kun lets out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

“Saihara-kun!” Amami-kun beams. His smile is warm and kind as always. . . but being aware of the fact the other liked him made Shuuichi feel weak in the knees. Why would such a cool, kinda and mature guy be interested in him at all when he’s clearly someone out of place and generally awkward? He . . . He has a genuinely hard time understanding _why_ people are attracted to him. After all, he’s never received such a positive reception before while growing up. It feels odd that it’s a thing now.

Nevertheless, Amami-kun folds the sheet of paper, sliding it into a pocket along with his pen. “Is there anything you need Saihara-kun?”

“Ah, I was wondering if you could help me. . .?” Amami-kun blinks before he smiles once more.

“I’d be glad to help Saihara-kun. What is it?”

“Kazehaya-san asked me to check on the attractions to make sure they’re safe.” He begins to blush a bit, fumbling over his words and making vague hand gestures. “She suggested going with you and I’d have. . . I’d have to agree with her. You’re a very sharp and resourceful person. . .!” Amami looks delighted that Shuuichi would come to him for help, even if it was his girlfriend’s suggestion. After their last encounter he was rather sure Shuuichi would try to avoid him. That thought causes a look of worry to cross his face once again.

“Are you sure you want me. . .?” Amami quickly slaps his palm against his mouth the moment he realizes what he just said, his cheeks flushed red and looking dreadfully embarrassed that he actually said that.

“I-I didn’t . . .! I mean, as long as it’s not a problem!” Shuuichi fumbles. His hands shake as he nervously plays with them, struggling to put his thoughts together. “I-I don't have a problem with you! In fact, it’s shocking b-but it’s also flattering to know you like me. . .? I don’t know what I feel for you just yet. . . but I’d like to know. I want. . .I would like to spend time with you Amami-kun. . . I want to know more about you! A-Allow me to court you!”

Behind his hand, Amami-kun is most certainly smiling. The flustered look on Shuuichi’s face but the way he delivers his word with such seriousness is truly endearing. And honestly, hearing the other wanted to court him and desired to know about him in general was rather precious. Amami-kun slowly lowers his hand, his cheeks dusted with pink.

“I would like that Saihara-kun.” With a tender and timid motion, he carefully takes Shuuichi’s hand into his own, gently squeezing it. Shuuichi’s cheeks exploded with red but he didn't yank his hand away like the other anticipated, instead he carefully returned the gesture, his cheeks flushed red and unable to look the other in his eyes.

_Shuuichi Saihara was truly something precious. . ._

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/qo2s7WCdH8g)

“You look like shit.” I stupidly say, standing at Kaito’s bedside. He groans a little, rolling onto his side and pulling the sheets up higher. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I gently rub his backside in an attempt to help sooth whatever pain he was suffering from. He said it was a stomach ache but it seems worse than that. . .

“Sorry. . .” He mumbles. I bring a hand to his hair, gently patting it down. It would be better that way. Who the hell wants to lay in bed with spiked hair anyway? Besides, Kaito really did look handsome with his hair down. “I’ll be fine tomorrow. . .”

“You’ll be fine as soon as you are. Just rest until then, okay?” I lean down to kiss him on the forehead. . . .but. . . there was the smell of . . . **blood** coming from him?

Kaito lets out a tiny whine, reminding me of what I was doing. He was laying on his back side, looking up at me with a pout. I smile gently, leaning forward once more to kiss his forehead while cupping his cheeks in my hands. He lets out a small content sigh, looking at me with tired but fond eyes as he brushes a long strand of hair behind my ear.

“You can take care of the workout for tonight, right?”

“I told you, it’s fine Kai-chi. . .” I give him another kiss on his forehead before pulling away from his bedside. “Remember to take a bath before you drift asleep.” He quietly hums and shuffles back onto his side. I flip the light switch off as I exit the room, firmly shutting the door behind me. As I made my way to Maki’s room, I couldn't help but wonder. . .

**. . .What was Kaito actually sick with?**

He smells like blood, his skin isn't warm or clammy but he looks miserable and terrible in general. . .

. . .

“It’s pretty thoughtless of your boyfriend to drag me into working out with you guys and then flaking out on us.” Maki huffs, not even trying to hide her annoyance.

“W-Well, he said he wasn’t feeling good--” Shuuichi weakly argues but Maki cuts him off with a sharp look.

“Why are you making excuses for him?”

“Would you prefer it if he threw up on you?” I counter. Maki seems to debate this concept for a few moments -- making me think that perhaps she was forced to train even when she was sick, which was fucked up -- before deciding on shaking her head with a sigh.

“Whatever, I don't have time to have small talk with you guys. Let’s get this shit over with.” Shuuichi looked mildly concerned that it was going to be the three of us. He seemed thankful that he wasn't going to be alone but, he seemed to have concerns about Maki. I can't blame him. While he still thinks she’s just a child caregiver, she’s openly hostile at times.

I give him a sympathetic pat on his back before helping him remove his jacket from his shoulders and place it on the surface of the nearby picnic table. Once we performed the necessary warm up exercises, we drop into position and begin out workout of one hundred pushups. The entire experience was nothing but heavy silence. It was incredibly uncomfortable and awkward and it remained that way until Maki called out to Shuuichi.

“Why are you training? Detectives don't need to workout like this.” A foolish thought.

“W-Well, probably not. . .” Shuuichi huffs between his pushups. “But. . . Overthinking things and worrying about what I need to do. . . When I’m with K-Kaito and Kazehaya-san, I feel like. . . all of that stuff fades away. . .”

“Do you. . . look up to that idiot?” There was a pause in her words but she was no way out of breath. She was genuinely confused. Shuuichi’s cheeks glowed red and he fumbled his push ups a bit, his arms quivered and he nearly fell forward.

“A-Ah, I don't know if I would. . . call it that. . .” Shuuichi pauses his pushups in order to organize his thoughts. I watch with curiosity as I am curious to know what he thinks about Kaito. “They’re both wonderful people. . .” There’s a small smile, gentle and tender,  on his face as he speaks. “They both have very amazing aspects. Kazehaya-san is very gentle and kind, with an open heart to everyone. . . and Kaito. . . he is. . . relaxed but also impulsive. . . those are things I’ve been missing all this time. . .”

“Absolutely disgusting.” Maki mutters under her breath, continuing her workout without delay, and like that, she reached one hundred. She springs to her feet, brushing the dirt from her knees and hands with a nonchalant look on her face.

“You’re really fast. . .  as usual. . .” Shuuichi says with an awkward laugh. Maki simply shrugs her shoulders, finding her feat to be nothing extraordinary. She’s about to make her leave when she pauses, debating whether or not she should say something. 

“About what you said about Kaito. . . I kinda understand.” She quietly admits. “But, I’m a bit jealous of how carefree he is. . . even if he’s useless.”

“Useless is a matter of opinion.” I explain as I drop onto my stomach and then rolled onto my backside. I place my hands under my head and look up to the stars. “Sure, there are people who think bits and pieces of Kaito’s personality is insane or unnecessary in our situation. . . but I’d argue otherwise. People need a light, and that light shines the brightest in the darkest of moment is our hope to push forward, that's why Kaito being Kaito, makes him an incredible person in his own right.” Maki shakes her head, letting out a long suffering sigh.

“. . . Why am I talking about this with you two?” She sighs, turning away and walking away leaving Shuuichi and myself behind. An awkward silence hung in the air as Shuuichi returned to his workout and I continue to gaze up at the stars.  Finally, he reaches one hundred and he drops to the ground with a heavy thump, his limbs spread out n the ground as he takes heavy breaths.

Carefully, I move closer to him and slide an arm under his head for him to rest on while I laid on my side, gazing upon him fondly.

“You did great Shuuichi.” I smile softly. My other hand reaches for his hair, gently brushing the bangs from his sweaty skin.

“Are you sure you want to lay like this. . . ?” He hesitantly questions. “I mean, I’m sweaty. . .”

“It’s fine,” I laugh, my grin stretching across my face. “We can just lay down and cool down for a bit, just like this, then head to the dorms for the night.”

“If that’s what you want. . .” His reply is soft and tentative. Just as careful as him rolling onto his side to face me. Our foreheads touch, causing soft smiles to spread across our faces. His hand carefully searches out my own and our fingers tenderly intertwine.

“Do you think Mo--Kaito, will be okay tomorrow. . .?” He asks. I don't know. The smell of blood and exhaustion he displayed. To be honest, it scares me a bit. . . because what if it’s something way more serious than what we could treat in the hospital wing. . . but. . .

“Yeah. He probably just overworked himself like an idiot. . .”

. . . It’s just a white lie.

Its fine.


	37. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {06}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what up got my dates confused so almost forgot gotta update today

 

EDIT PLAYERS

SELECT PLAYER

        >>PLAYER 04

. . .

PLAYER 04

        >>GOKUHARA GONTA

                >>SELECT PHASE

                    PHASE 01           >>PHASE 02

. . .

PLAYER 04

        >>GOKUHARA GONTA

                >>PHASE 02

                    EDIT        >>DELETE         RETURN

. . .

PHASE 02 DELETED

 

* * *

**July 5th; Day 16**

* * *

 

With Kazehaya-san being so busy, she requested he go make sure Kaito was okay this morning. Shuuichi had no reason to reject her and he was greeted with a gently kiss on his cheek, which in turn made him blush wildly.  Shuuichi hastily walked up the stairs to Kaito’s dormroom and rapped his knuckles against the door but. . . it creaked open.

Immediately, terror ceased his heart in a violent grip. Please. To whatever Gods Kazehaya works alongside, let this not be what he thinks this is. His breath trembles but he rushes into the room to check on the person that means so much to him. . .

Sitting on the bed is a sight that cruely yanks at his heart strings.

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/yofsOSx6Y94)

Kaito, oh god Kaito, he just looks so broken and miserable as he sits on the edge of his bed. He's sweating and looks utterly exhausted with deep bags under his eyes. There’s blood running down his lips, and blood on the back of his hand and the front of his once pristine white shirt.

“K-Kaito. . . !” Shuuichi gasps in horror. It’s at the sound of his voice does the other realize he’s not alone in his room. Kaito looks up at Shuuichi with wide horrified lavender eyes. Kaito’s eyes dart to the door, shakily demanding the other shut the door. Shuuichi follows through with the order, nearly stumbling over his feet as he races back to the door to shut it with a slam. Kaito lunges forward, making a loud and disgustingly wet coughing sound against the back of his hand. Shuuichi looks back at him, horrified. He was coughing up blood. Oh God. Was this. . . Was this why he skipped out on practice last night?

B-But Kazehaya-san said it was only something minor. That he would be fine today. . .! Did he. . . Did he lie to her about how sick he was?

Whatever it was, Shuuichi was at Kaito’s side in an instant, kneeling before him at the edge of his bed and holding Kaito’s sweaty face in his trembling hands. Kaito’s hands limply lay on his upper legs, as if he knows he can't get out of this, but he smiles like always, showing of his teeth that are stained red with his own blood.

“What’s. . .  What’s with that face Shuuichi?” It sounds so hard for him to talk. Shuuichi furrows his brows, trying to fight back the tears that want to fall.

“Kaito, y-you’re coughing up blood. . . !” Shuuichi exclaims, trying to get this vital information to the other. . . but Kaito laughs. It’s without his usual joy, enthusiasm or loudness that was behind it. It’s just. . . tired. . . Kaito simply leans forward, pressing his forehead against the top of Shuuichi’s head.

“I know.” He answers softly. His voice trembles, as if he’s the one afraid. Perhaps he is. This isn't healthy at all for anyone. It had to be terrifying to suddenly start coughing up blood. After a moment of hesitation, Shuuichi sits up a little taller to wrap his arms around Kaito’s neck and holds him close, but gently.

Then it’s Kaito who hesitates. He shuffles back to the center of the bed and gently pulls Shuuichi’s hand to give him the hint that he wants him to join him on the bed. Shuuichi looks at the other once again and his heart clenches. He still looks so tired as he pants softly in pain while he looks at him with timid lavender eyes.

To see Kaito in such a vulnerable state is just. . . it’s terrible. He isn’t sure what he can do but he wants to do whatever he can to help the other. So when Kaito softly pats a spot on the bed sheets right in front of him, Shuuichi complies with his request. He sits on his knees, looking to the other with a timid expression, uncertain what else he can do, muchless what the other wants from him.

[( SOURCE )  
](http://freakburger.tumblr.com/post/177455514308/hm-hm-hmmmm)

Kaito answers his question by gently resting his legs on top of Shuuichi’s folded ones and leans forward to press his forehead against the other’s shoulder. Shuuichi slowly brings a hand to Kaito’s elbow, softly rubbing his thumb against the clothed elbow in an attempt to soothingly rub it while his other hand rests on Kaito’s shoulder. Timidly his hand moves up to play with hair at the base of his neck. Kaito seems just as hesitant to rest his hand on Shuuichi’s forearm, like, he needs to anchor himself to the other to prove he’s alright at this moment.

“I’m sorry. . .” Kaito whispers, his voice just as much of a strained whisper as before. Shuuichi’s hand on his neck makes its way to the back of his head, gently pressing the other’s head against his shoulder a little more firmly than before. Kaito nuzzles into Shuuichi’s touch, softly humming.

“It’ll be okay Kaito. . .” Shuuichi softly assures.  . . .But will he really be fine? Will anything be fine after this grim discovery? He doesn't know and it terrifies him. It terrifies him so badly.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Cool Morning -  
** ](https://youtu.be/hiNSu24BNGQ)

The dining hall is calm for once, although a few individuals are absent, there is quite talk among those who are here. The silence is _immediately_ shattered with the arrival of Miu Iruma. She’s cackling up a storm while she holds some cardboard box above her head and Ryouma is ready to beg for death until he hears a soft ‘meow’. He sets the legs of his chair back onto the floor and he looks to Iruma with curiosity.

Her grin is the smuggest thing possible and she’s more than pleased to show off what she’s created this time. She steps closer to the table and proceeds to dump the contents of the box onto the surface. In an instant, Ryouma’s eyes light up with a sparkle of lost happiness. He pockets his candy cigarette with shaking hands as the others gasp in awe.

Walking on top of the table were so many adorable robot cats. He offers his hand to the Russian Blue padding across the table and once it notices Ryouma, it eagerly rubs against his hand.

Ryouma’s heart just. . .melts. . . A trembling smile spreads across his face as he cradles the cat in his arms. While he gently strokes the gray synthetic fur on the cat’s backside he looks over the other cats Iruma created.

The calico Japanese Bobtail and white-brown Ragdoll were play wrestling with each other with the gray British Longhair playing with some nearby silverware. The white Turkish Angora leapt off the table and was curiously examining everyone from this new perspective.

A black York Chocolate was casually splayed on the table, gently tapping its tail against the surface proving it was rather calm and happy about its circumstances. Surprisingly, a ragtag Siamese was heading over to Harukawa for attention, she was completely baffled by this and. . .if he didn't know any better, it seemed she was at a complete loss on how to deal with this.

. . .The white-gray Aegean and the American Shorthair with a white-orange tabby coat were cuddling up to each other and taking a nice little nap but still accepting the petting the others offered, making soft sounds of delight.

Ryouma hears a cheerful ‘nishishi!’, causing him to look away from the cats before him to see that Ouma was lifting the black Persian with big yellow eyes by it’s underarms. Thankfully the cat seems completely unbothered by this and is simply sticking its tongue out. Ouma’s face shines with utter joy and an innocent happiness.

“I’m gonna name this cutie Panta!” He cradles the cat in his arms and gently pokes the nose. He proceeds to look everyone dead in the eyes and say ‘Panta is now my minion of darkness, don't any of you losers think you can touch her!’ before fleeing the scene.

“You FUCK!” Iruma shrieks. “Those are for Hoshi’s shitty cafe!”

“His cafe?” Kiibo repeats in utter confusion. He’s probably never heard about a cat cafe before. Completely tragic.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a cat cafe. . . but I needed cats for it so I asked Iruma for help. She was disgusting about it, but she got the job done.”

“No thanks to that’s fuck!” She scowls, placing her hands on her hips in irritation.

“Yeah, I asked him to make it a hassle for you in exchange for a cat.” Ryouma chuckles at his own plan in amusement. On the other hand, Iruma looks mildly offended that the other actually had intentionally went out of their way to make things a mess for her.

“Y-You did what?!” She sputters. Ryouma supplies no response, instead he gives her a blank expression before  turning to the cats and calls out to them with a simple “Neko-chan oide”. The robotic cats immediately stop what they’re doing and crowd around Ryouma’s feet, mewling for his attention.

“C’mon, let’s go guys, I’ll pick out the best names for all of you. . .” The cats mewl with delight at this promise and eagerly follow him out of the dining hall. In all truth, he can't help the genuine nor happy smile that spreads across his face. These cats are the best goddamn thing he’s had for a while and robot or not, he’s going to love the SHIT out of them.

 

* * *

   
The morning, and subsequently, well into the afternoon was a busy day for me as this is the last day of preparations before the festival begins. So it was officially rush time for everyone. Thankfully Angie completed the decorations needed for the cat cafe with no complaints so I carried those from the fourth floor to the third and into Gonta’s lab so they could be set up by Ikiko and Ryouma whenever they got the chance.

Personally, I ended up using magic to alter the color pallet of various things in Toujou’s lab. The color of the wood floor shifted to a dark brown and the walls were painted gray. The cushions and curtains were a pretty lilac color intended to compliment the wall and thetan tablecloth and napkins, which were accented with silver napkin rings, and in the center of the table were black vases with freshly picked wysterias.

Ikiko was supposed to deliver the finalized menus by tonight at the latest so all that remained, besides some cooking prep, was fitting the dresses and suits along with cafe uniforms. The Monokubz have been dragging people in and out of the lab all day in order to make sure the clothes properly fit and at this point Shuuichi was trying on his maid uniform. . . but worryingly, he seemed to be disconnected.

Far too concerned with my boyfriend, I place a pin back into the wrist cushion and bring a hand to his cheek. He tentatively leans into the touch, looking to me with sad eyes.

“Are you worried about Kaito. . .?” I ask softly. After a moment of hesitation, he nods his head. I don't know what he’s sick with but he’s _still_ sick but I know it upset Shuuichi severely. Ignoring the possible severity of the illness, this would make Kaito’s fittings complicated. I sincerely hope he felt better so he could help Shuuichi at the cafe like he wanted.

. . . Being sick during a festival would suck ass too. He and Gonta put together a play after all and he looked so excited when he asked if I would be there to see the show’s premiere.

Focusing on Shuuichi once more, my thumb gently rubs under his eyes when I notice he’s ready to cry and his eyes shine with unshed tears. I lean in, gently kissing his temple, and he desperately leans into my touch in search of comfort.

. . . He didn't go into detail about what happened when he visited Kaito . . .but this behavior. . . it said enough. It wasn’t good. I don't want to force an answer out of him but the lack of anything frightened me. Sighing, I gently kiss him on his forehead and gently rub his arm to soothe him.

I’m about to open my mouth to tell him everything is just fine when I hear a sound. The quiet sounds of a familiar metallic clomping and a hushed voice talking to itself. Kiibo. A fire suddenly sparked in my chest and I was barreling out the door to catch the android. Kiibo didn't even notice as he was muttering to himself while counting his fingers.

With a battle cry, I barrel over to the android screaming as loudly as I could. _That_ gets his attention. Kiibo gasps before shrieking back in terror and confusion. If he had a shirt on I would have grabbed him by the collar so I did the next best thing, shaking him wildly by his shoulders.

“What the FUCK is your damage Kiibo?!” Perhaps it’s the stress of the situation at hand and being all to aware that he’s been intentionally ignoring Shuuichi since _he_ kissed _him_ , and honestly, I’m just pissed off about how he’s been treating Shuuichi.

“E-Excuse me?” He stammers, genuinely caught off guard and still in a panic.

“Excuse me indeed! Where do you think you get off treating Shuuichi like shit?!” I snarl. Kiibo’s eyes anxiously dart around for a moment before he uneasily gulps. He lifts his hands to his chest, trying to keep some distance between us and I ease off a bit, but not enough that he could run off.

“I-I have not done anything of that nature!”

“Of course you did!” I argue back. “You kiss him and then go out of your way to _avoid him_?! Maybe you don't realize it's rude but it is!”

“I didn't kiss him.” Its an immediate answer and Kiibo’s face is lacking emotion. I couldn't help but. . . just squint my eyes at him with disbelief.

“You did.” I suddenly shout at a pitched volume, throwing my arms up into the air. Kiibo flinches at my volume, inching away a bit. I place my hands on my face, slowly dragging them down. I honestly doubt Kiibo realizes the actual impact of his actions or how cruel it is. To kiss someone and them pretend it never happened and then avoid that person all together? It’s just. . . It’s just fucked up. . . “God, do you realize what you're doing? You can't just. . . kiss someone and then act like it never happened and ignore them!”

“That has never happened.” Kiibo pointedly replies, lifting a finger. I squint my eyes once more. Is he real.

“You’re literally avoiding this by pretending you have no memories of the event.” I stress but he puffs his chest out in retaliation.

“Well do you have any WITNESSES to this so-called event?” He questions in a sharp tone as he crosses his arms. A beat passes before he adds on ‘other than you?’ I want to question if he’s serious, but, I know he is. . . However, he literally did this IN FRONT of everyone so how he can honestly question if there were witnesses is beyond me.

  * “ **Kazehaya’s Statement** ” After the second trial and returning to the main floor, Kiibo approached Shuuichi and kissed him on his cheek. Himiko, Ouma, Ryouma, Kaito, Amami and Shuuichi himself were witness to this.



  


“TAKE THAT!”

He slowly absorbs this information, struggling to calculate what his response should be. . . Ultimately, I’m torn between surprise and annoyance when he attempts to blame it on **Chaos Magic**. I can't believe this. How could he resort to such a response?

“That’s. . . That’s not how it works. . .” I deadpan. Because, honestly, it’s really not now it works. **Chaos Magic** causes -- and in return, is affected by -- people [to] do[ing] intentionally bad things. Yes, Kiibo avoiding Shuuichi is bad, and it may be intentional, but it was not done out of malice or with bad intentions. If I had to guess, he was just nervous now that he has to deal with the repercussions of his actions.

“W-Well, obviously something happened, because I don't remember any of this!” Oh my god is he still arguing this? I let out a deep sigh, cross my arms and tap my foot against the floor.

“Would you prefer it if I tell him you don’t have feelings and you aren’t kicking his heart around by avoiding him and this is a misunderstanding OR--?” A blunt question but, it gets some reaction out of him. Kiibo immediately scrambles closer to me and folds his hands together in a plead.

“N-No! No don't do that!” He begs.

“Alright good, cause I dont wanna deliver that kind of news to my boyfriend.” I respond with a deadpan tone. Sighing, I tap my finger on my forearm in a struggle to understand how Kiibo got to a conclusion that this WOULDN’T end badly. “But, geez, did you really think he wouldn't be hurt by the fact you kiss him and anytime he wants to talk about it you say it didn’t happen?” A beat passes. Kiibo softly sighs. It’s less annoyed and more. . . disheartened.

“Well that wouldn't happen. It's nothing to consider after all. . .”  His expression looked depressed and distant. Did he really think. . . people couldn't feel for him? Even after the stories I’ve told him about Aigis and my brother, Makoto?

**[\- Moon on the Water -](https://youtu.be/yofsOSx6Y94) **

“Kiibo,” I begin softly. “Why I wouldn’t have brought this up unless it’s a very real possibility?” He quickly shoots down my words, shaking his head before looking at me with angry blue eyes and pointing a finger at me.

“People like to deal in hypothetical situations!” He exclaims. “I don't!” My face falls and I look at him oddly. Oh god. He really did think it was all impossible. Even if he wants to be more human like and accepted by others, he legitimately can't believe things would work out for him in the realm of romance.

“I. . .Who said it was hypothetical?” I question completely baffled how he got to that conclusion in the first place.

“You,” He exclaims, just as confused by my question. “when you said what if!” I place my face in my hands, rubbing my face before dragging my hands down with a sigh.

“That wasn’t a ‘what if’ scenario.” I explain, placing my hands together and pointing to him. “I asked if _YOU_ would prefer it if I told Shuuichi you didn’t like him so he would stop pining over you and stop stressing himself worry.” As soon as I said that I realized I said ‘pinning’ my face fell a bit. That. . . umm. . . Shuuichi’s feelings for Kiibo is complicated. He’d admitted that to me before so, it may have not been the best words, but I _do know_ he cares for Kiibo so I _know_ he’s genuinely been upset by the fact the other has gone around ignoring him since the kiss.

“I--!! What part of _me_ kissing _him_ makes him think that he's offended me?!” Kiibo demands, clearly at a lost. I don't blame him for his confusion. I’m sure most of it is Shuuichi’s anxiety at work and Kiibo’s refusal to talk or admit it that lead him to that conclusion. After all, not many people would get the conclusion of thinking you offended someone when THEY kissed you first.

So, I place my hands on Kiibo’s shoulders and look him dead in his eyes in an attempt to convey how serious this is.

“Kiibo, it’s the fact that you've done nothing but **_avoid_ ** him since the kiss. It’s naturally going to think something went wrong when someone they frequently talk to suddenly leaves their life and with Shuuichi’s anxiety he’s more likely to blame himself before anyone else.” My serious gaze vanishes after several moments as I watch the gears turn in Kiibo’s head. A smug grin then spread across my face and I crossed my arms in victory. “Also you admit it. You kissed him. I win.”

“THAT was hypothetical!” I’m starting to question if he even know what that word means. “And I. . . th-that doesn't. . . fine! Fine!” With that admission his furious face fades to a nervous and somewhat timid expression. “I-I'll go talk to him. Just to prove you wrong. . .!” I simply give him a thumbs up. At least there would finally be some resolve. Hopefully. God. They better not fuck this up.

I lead him back to Toujou’s lab, him huffing and looking embarrassed the entire time. I easily open the door to the lab to find Shuuichi folding his hands together and awkwardly shuffling about, looking nervous as can be while occasionally stopping before the mirror to make sure the outfit was still in place.

The loud and sudden sound of fans revving catches the attention of Shuuichi and myself. We both look to the door to find Kiibo is frozen in mid-step. The lighting under the synthetic flesh of his cheeks light up to give the appearance of blushing, his collar clamps close and the word ‘ **AAAAA** ’ appear on the screen of said collar.

Worried, Shuuichi bunches the ends of his skirt into his hand and hurries closer to Kiibo’s side. He brings one hand close to Kiibo’s cheek, who only glows a darker shade of red, but at the last moment Shuuichi pulls back, awkwardly clutching at the dress once more.

“A-Are you alright, Kiibo-kun?” Shuuichi’s words are hesitant and he fidgets about, both embarrassed and unsure of what to do in the current situation. In return, Kiibo was equally at a loss despite the fact I informed him beforehand about Shuuichi’s feelings about what’s going on, but seeing and hearing are two different things.

“I-- I'm fine!” The poor robot sputters. “Kazehaya-san told me that I should talk to you!” Looking over what Shuuichi was wearing once more he hastily looked away again, bringing a hand to his face to hide how much he was blushing. “But. . .perhaps I should wait until you're in your regular clothing again? Would that be more comfortable for you. . .?”

“No!” Shuuichi exclamation came out in as a loud sound which startles Kiibo so much he jumps just a bit. “Please don't go!” His hands fumbles in an awkward struggle to firmly clasp both of his hands around one the other’s. Blushing, Kiibo looks to their connected hands and back to Shuuichi’s timid expression.  “I-I’ve missed you. . . I’m . . . I’m sorry for whatever I did to upset you!” And Kiibo’s entire body grows limp with those words.

He. . . He didn't even consider that my words were genuine. . . because his fears of being loved and accepted blinded him from seeing how much people around him care and adore him. He uneasily swallows the knot in his throat and after a few attempts to speak, he finally manages to get something out.

“. . . You didn't do anything to upset me.” His expression is torn between anxiety and confusion. “Do. . . Do you really think that you did?” His voice so so much softer as he asks the question and he can't bring himself to look the other in his eyes. Gently, Shuuichi brings the back of Kiibo’s hand to his forehead and he lets out a soft sigh as she squeezes his eyes close.

“. . .Of course I did.” His voice is soft and yet firm as he asserts this. “You. . . You stopped wanting to spend time with me. I know we've been busy with this festival but no matter what, I couldn't find you and it felt like you . . . hated me.” He hated to admit that fear -- the fear that he’s hated by the other -- because it’s so stupid and illogical. Kiibo isnt a person that would treat others poorly, if anything, he should _know_ Kiibo’s reaction is most likely out of fear and being nervous but his brain refuses to let him think it's simply that.

Kiibo looks torn between hurt and worry for the other. He pulls his hand from Shuuichi and the detective brings his hand to his chest and glances away, his expression pained. Kiibo surprises the two of them by cupping Shuuichi’s face in his hands; his breath catches in his throat and their both flushed red.

“I . . . I promise, I don't hate you! I could never hate you!” Kiibo says this with such sincerity and seriousness that Shuuichi’s cheeks light up even more. The two gaze into each other’s eyes before Shuuichi hesitantly leans into Kiibo’s right hand and places his own on top of his.

“Then. . .why have you avoided me then. . .? Why have you denied any of the . . . the romantic things you've done. . . why would you. . .?” His voice trembles a bit and Kiibo feels a sensation of pain in his chest. He never wanted to make Shuuichi feel like this. To be honest, he didn't even think he would make anyone feel as if they did something wrong.

“B-Because they're not. . .” Kiibo’s voice trembles once again and he seems even more anxious than before. “Because I don't know if they're romantic or not!” He admits with a shout, furiously blushing and hiding behind his collar once more.

On the other hand, Shuuichi blinks in confusion. While he’s only recently opened up to the idea of multiple partners for himself. . . he strangely feels a tad bit disappointed with Kiibo’s response. Wouldn't that imply he had an eye on Kiibo for a while, wouldn't it? That’s embarrassing to think about. . . but then again, he was attracted to both Kazehaya-san and Kaito at the same time from the start? Perhaps things are simply different now that he’s becoming more aware of his lifestyle and learning more about his partner’s.

“A-Ah. I-I see. . .” For a moment Shuuichi stumbles over his words and then, he breaks into a soft smile as he steps away from Kiibo, folding his hands together. “W-Well, it’s better if you take time to understand it. . .our feelings would only burden you at this point in time then.”

I immediately choke in air. Kiibo stares with loud wide eyes before a shrill shriek of surprise escaped him while his collar spun the text ‘ **?¿¿?¿?** ’ to express how surprised he was by this new information.

“O-Our?!” Shuuichi helplessly looks to me for some sort of advice but I was busy hiding my face in my hands.

“You. . . You mean that K-Kazehaya-san. . .” Kiibo is at a complete lost. He looks between Shuuichi and myself before he quickly places his hands at his sides and bows his head. “Kazehaya-san!!! I. . . I didn't know that you felt this way!” That’s . . . an unexpected reaction to be honest. What reason is there to bow to me just because he knows that I have a crush on him?

I mean, I pretty much found Kiibo curious and adorable from the start and why wouldn't I? The way his eyes sparkled with fascination when he saw something he liked or something new was precious. Much like the way he acted when he wanted to hear stories about the things I’ve experienced. . . but with so much going on it was hard for me to properly act on those feelings and say anything.

Besides, it felt way more important to talk to him about how he was treating Shuuichi rather than my own feelings anyway. . .

“Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't have been so cute.” I mumble, crossing my arms while my cheeks glowed a bright red. Kiibo lets out another yelp of surprise, his collar clamping close once more. The screen only showed an array of keyboard smashes -- for some reason in English. Perhaps to emphasize how totally and utterly surprised he is by my words. Kiibo vibrates in place for a few moments before hastily excusing himself and fleeing from the room. Awkwardly Shuuichi and I stand around for a few moments, not even sure how to properly address what just happened.

“I-I thought. . . .I thought you told him?” Shuuichi fumbles to explain. I quickly shake my head and rest it against the top of my hand with a sigh.

“I never had the chance and I . . . I honestly wasn't thinking of that when approaching him.”

“O-Oh.” Shuuichi softly mumbles. He whispers an awkward apology, folding his hands together, while looking down to his feet.

“It’s fine.” I laugh just as awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. “You didn’t know. . .” Unfortunately our conversation ended there as we heard a loud thumping sound outside in the hall. Quickly bolting out the room like a shot, I discover the source of the sound as Kiibo laying face down on the stairs leading back down to the first floor. His body was stiff as can be and his electric blue eyes were not visible, reflecting only static, and his mouth just hung agape just a bit.

In a bit of a panic, I pat down his body in an attempt to find any sort of damage due to the fall and thanks to his rather sturdy body there was no sign of damage. Wrapping my arms around his chest, I pull him back up to the second floor where I lay him on the floor. Shuuichi could only watch in confusion as I raced past him to make my way to the stairs leading to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor looked as creepy and unsettling as ever but . . . well, actually, it was worse. There was an unsettling and cold fog that wafted across the floor, making it impossible to see the floor itself. So anyone could step on uneven or damaged flooring if they weren't careful enough. Awesome.

Didn't help that there was some caution tape cutting off access to like 2/3rds of the floor. She could be anywhere and I’d have no damn clue. So the next best option was to head to the three rooms by the boarded off computer room. I found her soon enough in the second room. . .  working on something. Whatever it was, it was under a large sheet she was using to obscure her surprise. She did scream when she heard the door shut behind her, she bursts from under the sheets snarling about how she already told both Himiko and Angie to fuck off and not disturb her.

“Hey,” I deadpan.

. . .

As expected, Miu threw a fit as soon as I arrived and attempted to drag her away from her work. She complained that she was a busy woman and she didn't have time for whatever I wanted. At least until I told her Kiibo needed help. She immediately sprung into action and followed me back to the second floor where his stiff body waited and Shuuichi anxiously fretted around.

Like the previous incident, where he shut down in the pool, Miu replayed his memories from before the incident and. . .

 

* * *

 

_“KYAAAHAHAAHA!! WOW!! YOU GUYS ARE GAAAAAAY!!!”_

_“JUST HELP HIM MIU!”_

 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO that scene with kaito and shuuichi was inspired by the piece of art by freakburger on tumblr, i inserted the image to get the mental image across???  
> also when i told them their angsty ass art inspired me they were jsut YESSSS  
> a+ person w quality art enjoy their content pls


	38. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {07}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i call this chapter  
> disaster train centeral

Kiibo is trapped in a state of ‘I want to die’. Learning Saihara-kun had a crush on him was strange enough, but even Kazehaya-san like him too?! It was beyond comprehensible! It was completely illogical!  So as soon as he was online again and made eye contact with the two of them, he ran as fast and as far as he could.

Sitting at the bench under the wisteria covered arbor, he placed his face in his hands, distraught. He had no form of preparation for such a scenario and he’s just. . . so absolutely lost. Sure, he’s seen in media robots finding a lover or someone that wants to remain by their side no matter what.

He’s even been told the story of Kazehaya-san’s deceased brother that married a robotic warrior until he died not even a month later due to a disease of sorts. It was a short marriage but one the robotic warrior valued and took pride in the love they shared. She even continued to wear her and her husband’s ring on a chain around her neck, keeping a piece of him with her at all times.

But . . .he really. . . he _genuinely_ didn't think _he_ could be loved. . .  He already put his creator’s life in danger at one point so he was clearly a valid threat to others and people didn't _understand him_ or they simply brushed him off, so why would two wonderful humans love him when they both have someone like Momota-kun waiting for them.

Momota-kun and Kazehaya-san could give Saihara-kun security and comfort while supporting him to become the best man he possibly could be. Kazehaya-san and Saihara-kun give Momota-kun love and trust, supporting him his endeavors to bring everyone together. A-And both of the males could keep Kazehaya-san grounded in her magical endeavors and. . . they could both give her. . . a . . . a child. . .

From his interactions with Iruma-san it seemed female individuals dreamed to have a child. Coupling this with the number of kids Kazehaya-san already had and the fondness in her eyes and her voice as she spoke of them seemed to prove just that.

He couldn’t do _that_ . He couldn't give them _anything_.

[ **\- Beautiful Lie -** ](https://youtu.be/ncYEjxBw_7g)

“Oh! Kiibo-kun! There you are!” Kiibo lifts his head when he Gonta’s cheerful voice reach him. Gonta is approaching him with a great beaming smile on his face and waving with enthusiasm. “Kazehaya-san was worried about you so Gonta wanted to make sure everything was okay!” At the mention of the young woman’s name, Kiibo’s expression screws into something awkward and uncomfortable. He rubs his metal arm in a fashion that feels. . . familiar. He did it when he was in that human body, but even then, it felt familiar. Kiibo shakes the thought from his head and smiles at Gonta.

“Yes, I’m fine, please don’t worry.” Gonta stares for a little while before he places his hands on his hip and beams so brilliantly.

“Gonta sees! Gonta is happy Kiibo-kun is being honest with his feelings again!” Kiibo blinks, not quite sure what to make of that statement.

“What. . .? What are you talking about? I’m always honest about my feelings?” Ah yes. How brilliant of him to make that sound like a question. Gonta tilts his head in away that's reminiscent of a confused cat. Hoshi-kun would love that.

“Then Gonta is confused . . . Why did Kiibo-kun say he didn’t kiss Saihara-kun?” The feeling of death returns yet again. Was Kazehaya-san right? Did everyone really know about that. . . ?

“I. . . I had a momentary lapse in memory,” Kiibo fumbles to lie. He uneasily gulps and stands up to point a finger firmly in Gonta’s direction. As he did, his lights under his synthetic cheeks light up yet again, making him look like a big blushing mess. “A-And I now understand that that event did indeed happen!” In no way does Gonta doubt his words, in fact, he smiles brightly and cheerfully as possible.

“Ah! Gonta sees! Gonta is glad you remembered a special moment!”

A

A special moment?

How can he say that? Nothing about that moment was special at all! It was so stupid! Running up to Saihara-kun and slapping his lips on his cheek and running off like an idiot! It was so stupid!!

“There was nothing special about that at all!” Gonta tilts his head in confusion once more before crossing his arms and pouting.

“But Kazehaya-san sharing a kiss should be done with someone you care for so its special. . .” Kiibo’s blush gets worse. His collar clasps close and he attempts to hide his face.

“T-That's--! Well, I do care for him, but not in the way that she's saying!” It’s a weak argument but, it’s the truth. He still. . . He still isn’t sure how he feels just yet. Understanding these feelings is a complex ordeal for him as he’s never felt like this about anyone before. He knows he. . . he wants to remain at Saihara-kun’s side but is that the same thing as loving someone?

“Gonta isn’t sure,” Gonta hums bringing Kiibo back to the conversation. Kiibo blinks, surprised by Gonta’s response

“Kiibo-kun likes to spend time with the two of them! A lot! A lot more than he does with Iruma-san or Gonta!!!” Smiling, he then placing his hands on his hips once more. “Also Kiibo-kun was the most worried about Saihara-kun when he went missing!” Kiibo’s blush becomes to a darker shade of red.

“I--! That's not--! Gonta, do you even know how she means that?!” He demands in an absolute panic. Gonta beams with absolute joy.

“Kazehaya-san is very open with Gonta about her crushes!!” Kiibo is frozen in utter confusion. How. How can she be OPEN about her CRUSHES?!

“. . .How so?” Gonta crosses his arms and hums thoughtfully.

“Hmm, she said its very easy to talk to Gonta! Sometimes, she gets off task from helping Gonta and talks a lot about her family!! Gonta is okay with that because they sound like very interesting people!” A blush rises to his cheeks as he sheepishly presses his index fingers together. “But sometimes. . . she talks about how cute she thinks everyone here is and how she wishes to hold hands and c-cuddle . . .”

. . .While he does not feel for Gonta the way he feels for Saihara-kun, he can’t help but find Gonta’s innocents about this situation to be rather adorable.

“. . .Gonta, do you have a crush on Kazehaya-san?” His answer isn’t immediate, in fact, Gonta blushes even more while he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck.

“Gonta isnt sure! Gonta has not been with other people in a long time, but, Gonta is very happy when talking to her or Hoshi-kun! They’re both very nice people to Gonta and Gonta would like to spend more time with them!” What. He. . . He is at his happiest when talking to either of them?

“. . . You feel the same way about her as you do Hoshi-kun?”

“Yes!! They’re both very important to Gonta! It’s also why Gonta is going to help Hoshi-kun at the cafe!” He pauses for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face as he struggles to string together his thoughts into words that could properly conveyed how he felt. “But. . . that's not to say anyone is less important to Gonta. . .” He lets out a soft disappointed sigh. “It’s hard for Gonta to put into words. . .”

“ I. . . I think I understand what you’re saying.” Kiibo confesses. To some degree anyway. He too holds everyone in high regards -- or tries his best -- but, despite that he did value some more than others. Like Iruma-san for example. While she is a crude person, she is someone he can depend on and is very soft and gentle when she needs to be. She’s a good person. . . just. . . a Mess. . .

“Oh? Does Kiibo-kun like two people too?” Gonta suddenly questions. The world around them is unfortunately silent which makes the sound of Kiibo’s fans kicking into overdrive all that lounder.

“I-I didn't say that!” Kiibo hollars, jumping to his feet. He puffs his chest out in an attempt to make himself look bigger but given the drastic height difference between the two of them, it was not making much of an impact. “N-Now if you’ll excuse me! I must go! I have many preparations to do!”

“Oh, good luck Kiibo-kun!” Gonta exclaims as Kiibo hurries off. There’s a wide smile on his face and he’s waving to the other’s retreating figure.  Kiibo pauses for a moment and before he can stop himself, he mumbles something; “I-Iidabashi. . .” Gonta blinks and somehow Kiibo _knows_ he’s confused so he repeats himself louder.

“Iidabashi! I’m Kiibo Iidabashi!” Once more Gonta blinks but he breaks out into his usual cheerful smile moments later and waves to Kiibo’s backside.

“Oh! Good luck Iidabashi-kun!” Kiibo keeps moving and yet. . . he can't help but wonder . . . why. . .  why did he use the professor’s surname?

* * *

 

 **K1-B0** ’s profile has been updated!

**NAME: K1-B0**

                → **Kiibo Iidabashi**

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/u8Rq8MjAKkQ)

If I didn't talk about this thing with Ouma. . . I was probably no better than Kiibo when it came to dealing with emotions and feelings. I honestly didn't notice it at first. I knew I wanted to be by his side to help him -- protect him even -- when I learned how completely fucked his chldhood was.

But then I realized, it wasn't just that. . . The thought, or perhaps desire, that I wanted to bring him happiness did I realize that I. . . I have a crush on him.

However, my attempts to play it cool was completely ruined by myself. I was leaning against the wall of the library as I struggled to string together a confession and waited for my chance to make my move. However, I ended up slipping down the length of the wall, hitting the floor with a thud at the very moment Ouma exited the Game Room with a handmade sign for his exhibit.

We just. . .stared at each other and I quickly posed on the floor, using a fist to prop my head and with the other hand I shot him a pistol wink.

“Hey Ouma, how’s it going.” Absolutely brilliant maneuver. You don't look like a fucking dumbass at all. Ouma leans his sign against the wall before approaching me with his arms behind his back. Humming, he leans down and tilts his head to the side.

“Onee-chaaaaan, what are you dooooooing~?” He asks.

“. . .Playing it cool and not acting suspicious.” I stupidly reply. He smirks, clearly trying to hold back his laughter.

“Ah, yes, clearly not suspicious at all.” He giggles before switching back to that singsong voice. “Onee-chaaan do you need help up?”

“LISTEN,” I painfully stress between my teeth. “I’m trying. I’m not good in these circumstances.” A moment of silence passes and I let out a deep painful sigh, offering my hand to him. “. . . also yes please.” Ouma helps me up into an upright sitting position with the overly sweet suspiciously innocent smile on his face. I make a few awkward expressions, which only get _weirder_ when he decides to rest his head on my shoulder and hugs my arm.

why

why is he doing this

_ouma why_

“Why are you so nervous onee-chan~?” I am literally going to die. Any brilliant confession I attempted to string together was now obliterated by the BSoD flying through my head. I don't know what I was expecting to come from this encounter but Ouma cuddling up to me and using that cutesy voice was _NOT_ on the list of expectations.

“Everything.” I blurt out. “Everyone is fuking stressed and I’m sure Angie wants to start a religious gangwar with me. Also I shocked Kiibo so bad he literally had a Blue Screen of Death and fell down the stairs. A-And I haven't had time to see you much lately and at our last encounter you basically ran off as fast as you could so I am Stress that you’re maaaaybe mad at me?”

_THAT'S TOO MUCH FUCKING INFO!!_

“Well, gosh, don't worry about that!” Ouma waves off, that smile on his face as he nuzzles my arm. “Everyone leaves me already! You’ll learn to get used to the pain and loneliness!”

“Wait, no!” I yelped. Yanking my arm from his grasp, I cupped his cheeks in my hands and looked him dead in his eyes. “You shouldn't feel like that! That’s bad and--! I’m just worrying too much! I’m just a dumbass!” He blinks oh so innocently before grabbing my hands by the wrists and pulls his face free from my grasp.

“Nishsishi~ That's okay, I already knew that~” He beams oh so innocently as if he seriously didn't just tell me that he’s used to being alone and in pain. I squint my eyes. I feel as if I’ve just been played. I doubt that was his intention but he’s clearly relishing in it judging by that huge grin on his face and how he happily giggles. With a heavy sigh, I take back my arms and cross them.

“I don't know if I should be offended or not, as I am a goddamn fool but I don't need that rubbed in my face by someone I thought was cute.” I mutter under my breath. However, with Ouma so close to me he probably heard that. . .and upon realizing that I began to panic internally.

_ARE YOU SHITTING ME_

_THIS IS CRITICAL MASS FAILURE_

_YOU_

_GODDAMN_

_DUMBASS !!!!_

“W-Wait! NO!” I fumbled in a panic but Ouma wasn’t listening. His eyes were sparkling and he’s smashed his hands against his cheeks making this overjoyous expression that was clearly mocking me. This was not . . . _THIS WAS NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!!!!_ I smash my hands over my eyes, groaning as I fell backwards and onto the floor in utter agony. Will I ever have a confession that isnt a disaster in some way?

“Well, I'm not surprised you think I'm cute.” Ouma cheekily replies, placing a hand on his chest in a haughty way. “I'm obviously adorable! Much more adorable than your dumb boyfriend!” My brain clearly wasn't working as I oh so brilliantly replied with; “Uh, last time I checked, you like Shuuichi too.” Ouma makes a face of disgust.

“I was talking about Momota-chan, obviously!”

“Cute is in the eye of the beholder. . .” I uselessly reply, lifting a finger into the air. He dully hums in response, glancing away. He was clearly bored with this conversation now. I had to pull myself together to properly convey the message I wanted. I sigh deeply, brining a hand under my veil to ruffle my bangs. “So, the cat is halfway out of the bag now, so I guess I should just let it out, I think. . . .well, I’m pretty sure that I have a crush on you.” The humor and amusement in Ouma’s expression is just blown the hell away in that moment.

He gives me this blank expression for several moments too long. It. . .It almost looked like he’s having genuine trouble absorbing this information. With little warning, a smile stretches across his face and he unleashes his usual cheerful smile.

i cant tell if im being mocked or not

“Well, OBVIOUSLY, who wouldn't have a crush on me!!” He . .

_HES MOCKING HIMSELF_

And yet. . .

“Yeah, I know you wouldn’t _want_ to deal with me because of the magic bullshit I gotta deal with and the fact ill confront your brother one day, but at the very least can you just try to take this seriously? Admitting these things arent easy. . .” I deadpan despite how anxious I feel. What a shitty way to deal with my emotions.

“Awww. . . but that's so hard. . .” Ouma pitifully whines.

“No offense, but it’s kinda important for me to know if there’s a point to pursuing these feelings or not.” I mumble with a sigh as I anxiously rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t need an answer right now, just, whenever you’re ready and able. . .” Ouma raised a brow, almost doubtful that I was willing to wait for an answer. It feels like I’m dying inside a bit because of it but, that’s stupid and unfair of me. This is clearly something he’s not used to and probably at a loss about what to do.

“Aw, well, I promise I'll let you know~” He beams, playfully lifting his hands into the air.

“. . .Well, that's better than you telling me to fuck off, so I’ll take it,” And with a sigh, I cross my arms and shoot him a rather serious look. “but you better not use this as an excuse to avoid your magic lessons. Given you presently only know **White Magic** , I’m the only one able to teach you.” Ouma loudly groans in utter despair. He cheekily crosses his arms and huffs.

“Do I really NEED to?”

“Well, yeah, you admitted it, your mom had magic and thus you inherited it. And you wore a bracer to hide it for years! So, you need training to make sure you can properly use it.” I explain, rubbing the back of my neck. Given his situation growing up it makes sense why he would want to avoid it. It’s been a real trashy experience.

“What if I just don't wanna use it?” He pouts.

“If you dont, you dont use it. It’s as simple as that.” I sigh. “but it’s still dangerous to let it go untrained. What if you HAVE to? With your low limit it would be easy to go over it and enter an Overdrive and you know, die, and we both know Tamekichi will one day return for you, knowing how to do some defense spells would be useful. . .” It’s not a good possibility for the future, but a real one and I may unintentionally be giving him what he wants by teaching Ouma since he intentionally kept Ouma alive to steal his magic in the first place. However, I can't leave him without anyway to protect himself.

“Unless I die first!” Ouma suddenly beams, grinning that oh so pleasant cheshire grin. I sweat uncomfortably.

“Please don't. . . I really don't want that to happen.” He pauses, his expression entirely unreadable for several long uncomfortable seconds.

“Awww you're no fun!” He pouts in a playful voice. . . but I can feel confusion and discord in his voice.

I want to question if it’s really that strange for him to believe that I care for him but I already know the answer. Of course it is. To be betrayed by his brother and watching his parents die must have been a damaging experience. Coupling this with our current situation, it must be hard for anyone to honestly believe that people can have genuine good intentions when caring for others.

“If it means keeping you alive, then yeah, I guess I’m no fun.” I sigh. “I. . . I don’t like seeing people I care for get hurt. Besides, if anyone should get hurt, it should be me.” Because I can walk it off. Because I’ll be fine. . . I know my partners don't enjoy seeing me get hurt, but, at the end of the day it’s all minor to me.

However, Ouma doesnt know this aspect of my life.

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/yofsOSx6Y94)

“Don’t say that.” His voice is soft and his expression is crestfallen. “Someone like you. . . you shouldn’t be reckless with your life when so many love and depend on you.” I wasn't sure how to respond to it at first. It was just so instantaneous and unexpected. Not a single moment spared to laugh at the mere idea. Just instant concern. . .  for me despite how much he tried to push me away and keep me at bay.

“Me getting hurt is kinda. . . not something for anyone to worry about.” I mumble with a soft sigh, unable to meet at his concerned gaze. It’s straight up baffling how concerned he is about me. I didn't. . . I didn't think he’d care if I got hurt or not. I guess. . . I got under his skin more than he ever wanted me to. However, he furrows his brows and a frown stretches across his face with annoyance.

“Why would it be fine for you to get hurt and not anyone else?” He demands. The tone made it clear that he was _pissed_ that, in his perspective, I’m fine with recklessly throwing away my life. Of course I wasn't fine with it, but I was always more than willing to sacrifice one of my immortal lives to save other people.

“It’s. . . complicated. . .” I sigh heavily before bringing a hand to the back of my neck. Several long silent moments pass as I try to pull my thoughts together. “but, I _guess_ I should not beat around the bush with it since it’s only fair. I’ve told all my partners about this, and since you’re someone I’m interested in, it’s pretty much a rule of mine to tell someone I have romantic interest in this stuff. . .” He blinks, clearly at a loss about what the hell I’m talking about, which is fair. After all, what could I tell my partners that would apply to my reckless way of giving up my life?

“. . . I guess, I’ll start with this. . . I. . . I’m not human Ouma. . .” I begin in a soft voice. He blinks, not sure how to register what the hell I just said. . . but he doesn't question. Instead, he just stares with a blank expression as he waits for the rest. “I’m artificial. Like. . . something in the same vein as your brother.” His eyes widen just a bit but it was enough for me to notice and wince.

“I’m certain the methods were different, but the results were same. . . something inhuman. . . something _broken_. . .”

“. . .Broken?” I anxiously fold my hands over each other and sigh once again. I hate talking this in depth about my . . . birth. . . In fact, I didn't intend to, but with Ouma’s knowledge of Tamekichi, I felt I had to let him know _exactly_ what he would be getting into. If he learned of this inhuman nature later, I’m afraid he would claim I lied to him or something. . .

“I wasn’t supposed to be ‘born’.” I bring a hand to my chest, over to where a heart would beat if I had a genuine one. Truth is. . . the inside of me is empty in a strange way. Or it was when I was initially created. I willed my body to have a number of internal organs so I could even conceive children in the first place . . . but there’s so many other organs missing.  “. . . My. . . _creator_ ,” I spit the word out with vile and disgust, because, all technicalities aside, she would be the equivalent of my birth mother but she. . . “She wasn't trying to create _life_. Only a puppet.”

And I can't help but _laugh_ . You would expect that the **Lady of Hope and Luck** would be a kind and compassionate person, but she was an unhinged, disgusting and cruel woman. She didn't care that she created me. She was furious. She wanted a fucking meat puppet to control so she could live with her reincarnated family through it but because of her own failure to understand the magical tools she was using and ended up giving her doll -- me! -- a fucking soul.

But she fucked up and mucked around enough with the family’s memories -- making them think they gave birth to twin girls-- that the Council had no choice but place me into that family as further tampering with their memories would only cause mental instability with them.

Khrystie Melody is not a real person.

Only a doll that was shoved into the role into becoming a daughter, then stumbling into the role of a Sage to the very Goddess that created her. . . and soon enough, a God herself when the previous goddess was **Erased** for her crimes. Who the fuck thought it was a great idea to give me the job of being a Goddess at fucking age thirteen?!

[ **\- Find A Way ( Cover ) -** ](https://youtu.be/7F6rq3Z-PUk)

“Well, you’re here now aren't you?” Ouma points out, forcefully dragging me out of self deprecating thoughts. I dumbly blink not expecting him to say anything like that. I expected a full on rejection. Disgust. Just. . . absolute hatred to me for having such a similar origin to the brother that ruined his childhood. “You may have been ‘born’ on accident but you’re still alive. Your life has meaning and despite it not being what that _bitch_ wanted, you could choose your own destiny and made your own path for yourself.”

Again, on the list of things I didn't expect from him, Ouma took one of my hands and looked into my eyes with a serious expression. His smaller hand tightly closes around my own and then. . . the fingers of his free hand gently touch my face. In that moment I realize the heat pouring off me isnt from embarrassment or anger but the tears building in my eyes.

“It hurts, doesn't it?” A shaky sigh escapes me before I rest my forehead against Ouma’s. He places a hand on top of my head for a gentle pat.

“I’m. . . I’m not some powerful person that can't be hurt by the words of others.” I admit. Or rather, explain. I’ve known this about myself for a long time. This wasn't something I didn't know after all. “Despite my nature, I’m still as human as anyone else . . . and I fear being rejected for things I honestly can't control. . . So, I’m thankful for my partners, friends and family that understand my situation. . .”

“You shouldn't have to think it’s okay to die because you’re not human. . .”

“No, that’s not. . .” I sigh, plopping my head against his small shoulder. “I talk about that. Not as in detail as I did with you now. . . but, I let them know I’m not human. . . and my partners don't ask more because of the more complex answer that has come as a result of how I was born. . .

“The reason why I don't mind if it’s my life that's sacrificed is because **I** **_can't_ ** **die**. No matter what, my body will repair itself and I’ll be up and running around soon enough. I mean, how long will depend on the type of the injury and how serious it is. . . but, I’ll always come back. It’s a terrible curse. . . ”

The worst part is that I’m not saying its a curse because I found something and I became dissatisfied with it. I never wanted to become immortal. I never intentionally went out of my way to gain immortality. It was an accident. A coincidence. In truth, all I wanted to stop my godfather from making a terrible mistake.

Using the Ultimate Weapon would have caused horrific disaster, the slaughter and senseless murder of so many innocent lives. . . and for what? To save a few people that _paid_ to survive as a member of his organization? It was asinine and unfair. . . and it showed how distressed and at a loss he was about the state of he world that he was convinced that basically killing all life and starting from a blank slate would be better for life itself.

One of the components to his plan, Xerneas, woke up from her long thousand year slumber and her horns glowed a bright array of colors, sharing her eternal life with all that were present before her in that moment. There was no chance for anyone to request or deny her blessing. It just. . . _happened_.

“Sure, an ability to not die is useful in my line of work . . . but, most of the important people in my life will die and I’ll be forced to watch them from a distance as they’re reincarnated again and again. In addition, it only means my kids will live forever and and their children and so forth until this trait is possibly watered down. It’s unfair thing to force upon them. . .”

“I’m sure they don't hate you for it. . .” He gently reassures me in a soft and warm voice. It was. . . strange to hear such a kind voice from him. Usually he delivered kindness in other obscure ways.

“My children?” I question with a deep sigh. Ouma’s attempts to reassure me where incredibly nice and genuinely unexpected. Perhaps that's what made it all the more sweeter to me. “I don't know about that. They’re all pretty young. Nanako, my first born, is like two. . . none of them have done anything dangerous to even have that power kick in. So. . . it’s going to be a real hit or miss when it does finally kick in.” I let out another sigh, this one a bit more apathetic. “Honestly, I’m just . . . very lucky my life has many people that love me dearly and they don’t reject me because of my inhuman nature. . .”

“Well gosh, it's too early to think about going into a relationship~ I haven't even answered your confession yet!” He giggles his classic ‘Nishishi!’ with a too wide smile stretching across his face. It took me a moment to realize that was his way of saying he accepted me. . .

“Well, I did say people dear to me as well.” I remind him with an awkward laugh. “You’re dear to me, even if you don't feel the same.” It hurts to think of, but I don't expect all of my confessions to go smoothly or be accepted. It’s just the way life is. Not all feelings can be understood nor accepted and I would know as I’ve rejected a few people in the past.

[ **\- Become Friends -** ](https://youtu.be/u8Rq8MjAKkQ)

“Aww that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me!” Ouma coos in his usual cheeky and teasing way. A smile makes its way across my face.

“I guess, given your background. . . it's probably been a long time since you have someone say they care for you, huh?” He gasps in mock offense and crosses his arms.

“Gosh, onee-chan, that was obviously a lie. . .”

“Doubt.” I counter. Ouma pouts once more . . .and it's absolutely adorable. A sudden look of realization crosses his face and lets out a soft gasp.

“Wait, wait, onee-chan!! I have a suuuper important question!” He gasps, placing his hands on his cheeks. I raise a brow but conceded, allowing him to continue. “When you realize you're tooootally in love with Saihara-chan, Momota-chan started dating him too, right?”

“God I wish,” I laughed. “Kaichii is having issues saying he likes Shuu. . .”

“Awwww that's no fun. . .” Ouma pouts, suddenly throwing himself into my lap.  I surprised by the action at first but I quickly find myself patting him on his head, to which he smiles a bit before cupping his face in his hands. “Can he not admit he likes boys?”

“Hmm, nah, he’s well aware he likes Shuuichi,” I thoughtfully hum. “but every time he tries, he says something stupid. . .” I quietly snort to myself. “Or nothing at all. Like a weird dying animal sound. I’m pretty sure it stems from the fact he’s has like zero relationship experience.”

“Gosh, Momota-chan sure is hopeless. . .” He sighs, shaking his head.

“Yeah, but he’s my doofus.” I laugh. “Anyway, do you need help setting up? The festival is tomorrow after all.” Ouma suddenly springs up, humming softly as he taps his chin in thought.

“I _guess_ I could use some help. . .” He thoughtfully hums before he breaks out into happy giggles. “It's hard for me to lift some things! Onee-chan can help save the day!” I smile again, patting the top of his head. Rather adorably Ouma beams with a cat like smile on his face.

oh god my heart

With a beaming smile, Ouma jumped to is feet and motions to the sign he brought out in the first place. It was a simple sign painted white with ‘BREAKROOM’ written in stylized english with black paint. The sign was further  accented with black and red colors and tiny dice and clown like masks.

Ouma scampers back into the game room and brings out a ladder, along with a few tools. I move the ladder into place, under an arch that hung over the fenced off hall that connected the library and game/movie room’s side doors. I grab a hammer and few nails before climbing up the ladder, placing the spare nails between my teeth, I hold the nail in place and begin to hammer it into the wall.

With the nail in place, I climbed down the ladder and moved it over to the side to put in the next nail. With a few strikes of the hammer, the job is done and I lift up Ouma’s handmade sign and hung it from the sturdy wire that’s attached to the d-rings on the back of it.

I then collect the ladder and tools and shuffle into the game room to help assist Ouma in preparation. I tuck the ladder away in a corner before looking for the young man in question. There’s a wide smile on his face as he hurries over to me, holding a large stack of papers, when he suddenly trips. He lets out a yelp, tossing the papers into the air and I fumbled to race over to him, wrapping an arm around his waist and places one to his shoulder.

His face bumps into my chest -- perhaps this is one of the only few moments I’m thankful that it could soften the blow due to its sheer size -- and his small hands cling tightly to my body. He looks up to me, slowly examining my expression but I’m distracted. . . There are not _two_ purple eyes looking at me but one. . . and one light green one. . .

Glancing down to my chest once again, I see a thin, semi transparent purple circle on my clothes. I stare at it in confusion, then back at him then back at my chest. Judging by the confused look on his face and how he squinted his eyes, he was clearly confused by what the hell I was doing.

“. . .Heterochromia?” I mumble out loud. _That_ seemed to hit him. Recognition is clear on his face and Ouma, slaps a hand over his left eye.

“Shit.” He mutters under his breath. “You weren't supposed to see that. . .” Ouma uncomfortably shuffles around before forcefully pulling himself from my arms. He’s mumbling under his breath as he attempts to make an escape but I quickly grab him by his cheeks. His eyes widen in confusion and surprise, his expression clearly anxious.

“I think it’s pretty cute!” I abruptly blurt out. Oh yeah. Because he totally needed to know I thought something he’s clearly insecure about was cute. Grade A plan you foolish fool that foolishly fumbles over themself like a fool. The blank expression is really not helping me until the moment a smile stretches across his face. Pulling away from me, he devilishly giggles and a sly grin stretched across his face.

“But of course! I am absolutely precious after all!”

I withhold the desire to make an apathetic expression. He’s not saying I’m a fucking weirdo or rejecting me, so, it’s a win I guess. . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Darkness Time -** ](https://youtu.be/qo2s7WCdH8g)

“Hey,” I call between my pushups. Maki grunts, glancing my way with irritation. If I had to guess she’s pissed off that not only Kaito not around but Shuuichi is missing as well tonight. I’ll admit I’m concerned about that but he was most likely with Kaito as he’s been worried about him all day. “Why are you jealous of how carefree Kaito is?” She pauses her work, turning her head in my direction with a sharp look in her eyes. Again, the look doesn't really phase me so she lets out an annoyed sigh.

“I was taught to only value the essentials. I was forced to abandon anything nonesental so they could mold me as they saw fit.” She stops with her pushups to simply settle down on the ground and folds her legs as she gazes up at the stars. “After everything they did to me. . . sometimes, I wonder what I am anymore.” I lay down on my side, resting my head in the palm of my hand.

[ **\- Heartless Journey -** ](https://youtu.be/1vXEP7djl2s)

“A victim.” I simply state. She turns to me, completely caught off guard by my words. She furrows her brows and clenches her fists.

“I’m an _assassin_!” She hisses. “I made that choice to become that fucking cult’s assassin!”

“Yeah to protect your orphanage!” I exclaim, suddenly sitting upright. I motioning to her with both of my hands with utter confusion of her anger or perhaps it was my own annoyance how she only sees herself in negative light. “I mean, I’m not sitting here saying you didn't do anything wrong, because that would be fucking assinie, but it’s kinda bullshit to say you became an assassin of your free will. These people were holding the funds, future and safety of the entire orphanage hostage and even if you didn't take the job of assassin, wouldn't have someone else be dragged into that life, right?”

She doesn't answer. Instead she simply looks away, refusing to look me in the eye like a pet that knows they did something wrong and refuse to look at it when you point it out to them. I simply sigh, continuing with my line of thought. “So, that makes it clear that you were coerced into the job with emotional blackmail. No one in their right mind would say you did that of free will. So yeah, you would count as a victim.”

“Why am I even talking to you about this?” Maki sighs, threading her fingers through her damaged hair.  “It’s not like you can help me. Not this time anyway.” I raise a brow. What? Does she honestly think I would stop to help her after fixing up her lab?

“Are you serious?” I question. “Why wouldn't I do something about it?” Maki gives me a look of utter disbelief, her mouth hanging open with how surprised she was by my insistence to help her. She uselessly gasps like a fish for several moments before she could find her voice.

The next thing I know she’s got her hand around my throat, and now that she’s back in her human body the grip is rather impressive. Her nails dig into the skin of my neck as she forced my body against the stone ground and she straddles my body and she pulls a hunting knife from the strap under her long stockings.

“Are you even listening to yourself?! You're as bad as your boyfriend! Do you think you could take care of an entire cult yourself?! Legions of assassins?! And even if you do. . . what will happen to them?! The orphanage!?” She demands.

I feel as if I’m missing something here. Did the cult give money to some of those groups that donated to the orphanage in the first place? If they did, that would explain some of her hesitance in leaving them, other than the fact they would descend upon the orphanage and destroy it.

And yet. . .

“Bold of you to assume I don't on a regular basis.” I thoughtlessly counter with a bored expression on my face.

im such a fucking mess

Maki’s expression darkens as she assumes I’m making some sort of joke or mocking her. Her nails dig tighter into my skin, starting to draw blood but I still don't show any signs of fear, much less any sort of concern.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She demands, her fingers curling around the knife tightly. The way her fingers shake show that's she’s trying so hard to hold back from striking me down here and now. I let out a sigh, looking into her crimson eyes.

“I’m not a preacher.” I simply state. “I’m someone that deals with a lot of shit and has a lot of jobs to do, sometimes that request of me to kill someone if it means I can bring hope to others. I don't like those types of jobs and usually, I do what I can to avoid them. Like solve the problem another way that doesn't require death. . .

“So, I can easily fund your orphanage. I got more than enough money for my children for several generations, probably more. And you need a way to make sure they can't destroy the orphanage or the people inside? I can make charms for that. Destroy a cult to protect innocent kids from further manipulation and abuse? Sure. I can do that.” Maki’s grip slowly faltered as a look of distress and confusion crossed her face. Clearly, none of this was familiar to her. Despite threatening me twice and being aware I’ve seen ugly aspects of society, I’m still giving her human decency rather than fear or showing intentions of harming her. . . things she clearly hasn't had in her life for such a long time.

“You’re so. . . so stupid. . .” She whispers softly. Her hand is removed from my neck and she sheaths her knife before standing up and taking long strides back to the dorm to escape from a world that made no sense to her.

“Do you like to bake Harukawa-chan?” I call after her. “Maybe we can bake something together!” For a moment she pauses, as if she’s thinking it over but she quickly shakes her head. She’s probably calling me an idiot under her breath once again as she steps inside the building.

. . .this could have gone so much better . . .

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/yofsOSx6Y94)

Kaito gently brushes strands of hair behind his ear, his lavender eyes gazing upon the detective with fondness as they laid side by side on his bed but Shuuichi’s expression was anything but content. His eyes are filled with fear and concern for the other.

“Are you sure working in the cafe with me won't overwork you. . .?” He timidly asks. “I. . . I don't know what I’d do if you ended up hurting yourself for my sake. . .” Kaito lets out a soft annoyed sigh. His hand gently cups Shuuichi’s face as he leans into press a kiss to his forehead.

“I’ll be fine Shuuichi. It’s nothing big. You just caught me at a bad time.” Kaito’s words are soft and soothing all in an attempt to calm the other but it does the exact opposite. Shuuichi sits on his knees, his tears eyes fill with rage and his thin brows furrow. It becomes abundantly clear that his words have infuriated him instead.

“How can you say that?” He demands as firmly as he possibly could, trying to fight back every quiver in his body. “You coughed up blood! And it wasn’t a one time thing! It happened again! Today!”

“And I’m fine now!” Kaito shoots back, annoyance clear in his tone as he too sits up.

“For how long?” Shuuichi asks, his voice becoming somber once more. Tears of frustration, fear and heartbreak bubble up. He desperately tried to hide his face as his body begins to tremble with sobs. “How long have you lied about being sick? How long will you be okay? . . . W-What if you. . . What if you _die_? What am I supposed to tell Melody-san?! She loves you so much Kaito. . . And I. . . I do too! I don’t want to lose someone so precious and important to me!”

And in that moment, Kaito’s heart _breaks_.

He never wanted to hurt either of them. They’re both so important to him and he dearly values all of his friends but as soon as he realized something was wrong he didn’t know what to do. He was at a complete loss. . . and hell, he still is! He doesn't even know what the hell he's sick with! Nothing in his life ever prepared him for this.

It seemed far too cruel to tell them he’s dying _from something_ but this whole time. . . he’s been just as cruel as fate to not tell them anything. . . but, right now, he can't sit here and mourn how he’s done nothing to help his own shitty situation. Not while Shuuichi sobs his poor heart out for him.

He. . . He must really love him. . .

Kaito finds his determination and gently cups Shuuichi’s damp cheeks in his hands. The smaller male softly gasps at the contact but he quickly, and eagerly, leans into Kaito’s touch in an attempt to calm himself and ground himself. His heart painfully clenches and twists at the poor pitiful expression on Shuuichi’s face, the impression he left behind on the other’s heart.

“Shuuichi. . .” He breathes softly. “I feel the same too, ya know? I love you. . . and that’s exactly why it was so hard to say anything. . . I already made promises to Tea that I might never be able to complete. . . I didn't want to think of a possibility of having you and then leaving you behind. . .!”

“I’m here now aren't I?” Shuuichi says with a trembling breath. Kaito gently wipes away his tears before leaning in to softly press their lips together. Seized by emotions, Shuuichi fevortantly kisses back and throws his arms around Kaito’s neck to deepen the kiss.

The taller male returns the gesture, pulling Shuuichi into his lap and pressing his lips to the other’s pretty thin neck. He begins simple enough with soft kisses and gently stroking the side of his partner’s body. Shuuichi bites back a moan, furiously blushing.

“Hey, don't hide your pretty voice from me. . .” Kaito responds with a low voice as he places both his hands on Shuuichi’s hips and gazes fondly upon the detective. “I. . . I really want to hear it. . .” Blushing, he sheepishly glances to the side before shyly smiling back at the young man he loved so much. “I-If you’ll let me. . .” Shuuichi blushes to furiously that he has to hide his face behind his hands as he struggles to pull himself together.

It almost feels like forever as Kaito waits for some sort of answer from the other and for a moment he’s almost worried he’s pushed Shuuichi too far but the detective slowly lowers his hands and timidly nods his head. Kaito smiles warmly, coming into kiss Shuuichi on his lips once again. Shuuichi’s trembling hands carefully come to rest on Kaito’s shoulders to keep him close.

The two part from their kiss, gazing into each other’s eyes before and then Kaito went for the kill, gently biting and sucking the skin of Shuuichi’s neck to leave behind a nice hickey. Shuuichi whines softly, wishing he could simply hide his face once more but with the position, he couldn't.

“Y-You can't leave anything too high. . . the uniform. . . I-I don't want everyone to see it. . .”

“It’s got a long skirt right?” When Shuuichi nods, Kaito smirks, carefully running his fingers over Shuuichi’s clothed legs. “Then, I can think of a few places to leave some marks on you.” The lets out a squeal of surprise, which quickly becomes a yelp as Kaito manhandles him onto his back, hovering over him with a smirk on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

 

EDIT PLAYERS

SELECT PLAYER

        >>PLAYER 05

. . .

PLAYER 05

>>HARUKAWA MAKI

. . .

       ERROR.

CANNOT COMPLETE PROCESS.

     >> LOG    RETURN

. . .

THIS PLAYER HAS BEEN EDITED WITHIN THE LAST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.

EDITING PROCESS REQUIRES A TWENTY-FOUR HOUR COOLDOWN BEFORE USING ONCE MORE.

. . .

0:21:36:53 REMAINS


	39. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {08}

[ **\- Miss (** ~~**Monomi** ~~ **) Aphrodite’s Practice Lesson -** ](https://youtu.be/g9R5mpVVuQ8)

**[** **Aphrodite’s Corner** **]**

Oh my! You’ve returned!

What? You’re worried about me?

That’s very kind of you, but, I’ve long since come to terms with what happened to my beloved  **Viktoriya** . . .

Hmm? What happened to her? Ah, that’s quite a tale to tell. . . Although I have come to terms with it. . . it still hurts. . . . but for your sake, I’m willing to talk about it darling.  


It began after  **Dilaria** used all the power she had left to create the system that would allow for  **Sages** . Inevitably, she died, thus the Gods that remained decided to create the  **Reincarnation Process** as  **Shizune** , her twin sister, could not create souls on her own.

. . . Or so we were fooled into believing.

**Shizune** felt as one of the beings that created souls, and thus life itself, she should be praised and adored by life. . . but they did not love her. They loved her sister above any other  **God of the Council** . In a fit of rage she created her own child -- or perhaps, a  **demon** is a proper term for what she created -- all in attempt to show the living the power she had and how she should be feared and yet loved and adored. 

Unfortunately, it was far too powerful, even for her. She could not control or contain whas she created, and instead, it stripped her of a great fragment of her power.  **The power of Chaos.** This creation head to the realm of the living and began to run rampant, causing utter despair and chaos as it went. 

Destroying the land and tainting the heart, soul and mind of everything it came in contact with and in turn, creating legions of demons. The people cried in agony and begged for help but because of the laws the  **Council** , we could not do anything. . . None but my beloved  **Viktoriya** . I tried to reason with her, that this was far too dangerous but. . .! 

. . .But. . .

I could not stop her.

**Viktoriya** made her decision. She intended to fight that mass of crawling chaos. It would turn out to be a long and grueling fight. We believe it ended with his defeat but it would take generations for us to see the extent of his plans. By planting the seeds of chaos and despair into life, this would bloom into the negative emotions we see in everyday life -- rage, envy, hate and even sadness for example -- and with this negativity, his return would be inevitable.

Our utopia was crumbling. . .

The  **Reincarnation Process** was stopped for the time being, until all the souls of those cursed with the Crawling Chaos arrived, and we Gods debated about what we should do to help the afflicted. However,  **Viktoriya** already had an answer. With all the souls gathered in one place. . . 

She gave up. . . 

Goodness, she gave up everything.

Her heart. Her soul. Her love. 

Her entire existence.

She gave it all up to bless those cursed souls with a pure light.

A light that would be known as  **Hope**.

And so, hope and despair would become threaded throughout every soul, which gives all of life the ability to fight back against  **The Crawling Chaos** or fall prey to it. . .

. . .

You know, sometimes. . .  

When I look at you. . . I believe. . . 

**The soul you receive when you were created, was once her own** . . . 

Somehow reformed after millions and billions of years. . .  


Perhaps it is destiny that you are the chosen one supposed to face that fiend.

**Nyarlathotep,** **_The Faceless God of a Thousand Forms_** _. _

 

* * *

 

**July 6th; Day 17**

 

* * *

 

It’s minutes to 5AM when I wake up. I really don't want to be awake at this hour but I have to make the food for the cafe and the snack stand. Grumbling, I look to my side to find that -- as graceful as ever -- Miu is snoring loudly and her leg is linked together with my own, making it a complicated ordeal to climb out of bed. I manage to get free, which makes her whine with annoyance before shuffling on the sheets in search of something to hold. She grabs a pillow, still warm, and shoves her face into it.

. . .She’s so fucking cute when she’s not being disgusting.

. . .

After a quick shower and changing my clothes, I left the dorms and made my way to the kitchen waiting in the main building. Monodam was waiting outside the door to the dining hall and he unlocked the door for me as he usually would on days that involved huge prepwork.

I’m immediately shuffling around the kitchen, grabbing a number of pots to prepare the soups first as I know they’ll up take the most time. I grab four onions and a stick of butter from the fridge, a bottle of olive oil and four cans of beef broth from the cabinet, and the bottle of dry thyme. Placing the items down on the counter I grab a knife from the block and begin to chop the vegetables on a the appropriate green chopping block.

. . .

My eyes burn.

Ignoring the stinging sensation and desire to cry, I proceed to cut the onions into thin slices and once that was done, I placed an eight quart pot on the stove on medium heat, adding half a cup of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil. Slowly I began to add the slices of onion, stirring and poking them around until they were nice and tender.

Honestly, the smell of the cooking onions was sweet and I wanted to shove some in my mouth but that would have been a waste of time and food. I continued to work through the preparations until I heard the door to the kitchen swing open.

“Hekoten-chan? Is that you?"

There is no answer.

. . . but I can hear it. The sounds of someone’s shoes carefully walking across the clean tile floor. Strangely, it’s familiar in a sense, **but this isn’t a pattern I’ve heard before**. However, I don't have much time to think this over as I feel the blade of a knife press against my backside. My eye immediately dart to the knife block -- there wasn't any missing -- and back to the chopping block where I noted the knife I used for the onions was still sitting.

Okay so, that didn't leave many options to who was currently holding a knife to me. The only ones with a knife would be Amami, Maki and myself. I’m clearly not holding a knife to myself -- or this would be that fucking meme that's like ‘don't trust anyone, not even yourself’ -- and that would be fucking weird. Although things are currently a bit complicated, Amami and I have a truce and we go to each other in a time so I can't see him pulling a knife on me.

Now Maki? I could totally see it. She did last night after all. . . but these footsteps didn't match up with what I knew of her.

Listening a bit more, I could hear how this person’s breath was shaking and I noticed how their hands were shaking as they pressed the knife against my back. Sighing, I lift my arms into the air, twisting them to show the other that my hands were completely empty.

“I’m unarmed, so there’s no reason to poke me with that knife.” I deadpan. “Honestly, targeting me is a shit idea. You won't get far with it. Also, there isn’t even a motive so you’d just kill a person for no reason and get executed for no damn reason.” I huff. “I’d be a shit way to go. . .”

“What. . . What are you talking about. . .? I just. . . I just wanted to know if the kids were alright. . .”

My brain sputtered to a complete stop, followed by it being struck by several strings of confused thoughts and burning in a huge trash fire of utter confusion. I recognize that voice. It was just a bit timid and quivering but that was definitely Maki. But that didn't . . . that didn't make sense!

“The kids.” She demands once more, her voice a little more forceful. It was a little closer to what I was used to but it wasn't quite there.

“My kids are at home with my partners?” I responded, unsure of what she was objectively even looking for. She falters for a moment, confused by my words apparently.

“Your children. . .? You have children?”

“Yeah, had my first born at like seventeen, another at eighteen and recently had twins at nineteen.” I say absentmindedly. “. . . but you should know that Harukawa-chan. I’ve already mentioned this to you.”

“ **I’ve** **_never_ ** **seen you in my life.** ” She hisses. I almost immediately call bullshit, but I don't. Or rather, **I can't.** As strange as this situation is, there is nothing but genuine sincerity in her voice. Somehow, to Maki, this is the first time we’ve ever met. But this personality is so drastically different from the one I’ve known for weeks. What the hell could have happened in the last several hours to cause this?

The door opens up once more, another pair of familiar footsteps, Ikiko and Kiibo. Maki lets out a sharp gaps, her eyes dart from me to the door. This. . . This makes for a hell of a scene for the two of them to walk in on. Kiibo lets out a shrill scream while Ikiko gaps in fright.

“H-Harukawa-san! What are you doing to Kazehaya-san?!” Kiibo demands. Maki shoots a look between us once more -- her expression screwing into rage as she looked Kiibo over from head to toe -- before pulling the knife away from me and grabs Kiibo around the neck with her arm. Kiibo shrieks in terror as hes manhandled into an position behind Maki. With him secured, she points her knife at Ikiko and myself, although since Ikiko was closer the knife is uncomfortably close to her.

“H-Haru-chan, we can talk this out.” Ikiko offers, carefully stepping away and presenting her hands to show she was weaponless. “You don’t need to take Kii-kun hostage. . .” The offense she showed before increased to a feverish pitch. Her expression was one familiar to me on the occasions she threatened to kill me in the past.

“You _bitch_ ,” she snarls, catching Ikiko completely off guard. “How _dare you_ accuse _me_ of harming my friend! You people are _sick_ and _cruel_!”

“Harukawa-san, w-what are you talking about?” Kiibo inquires, his voice trembling. She glances over her shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look before turning back to us and tightening her grip on the knife.

“. . .You had the _audacity_ to not only **_downgrade_** him but alter his memories too?!”

“What.” It was all I could find myself able to say. Downgrade Kiibo? Her friend? Maki never really had a close relationship with anyone so this was completely out of left field and Kiibo is clearly just as confused by what she’s saying.

“Where--!” But Maki’s words are cut off by a dreadfully familiar sound.

 

**Ding dong dang dong. . . !**

 

**HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME**

**I MADE MY MISTAKES**

**I JUST WANNA SCREAM**

**HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME**

I’m sure that’s not how the lyrics go, but my dramatic moment aside, Monokuma’s image suddenly flickers on the TV screen that just came alive out of the blue. Strangely, he looks a bit anxious as he swirled the wine filled glass in his little jittery paws, nearly spilling droplets of his drink.

 

* * *

 

_This is Monokuma, your beloved Superintendent!_

_It’s time to rise and shine and I have a super special and important announcement to make!_

_Arrive at the Gym in ten minutes and remember, attendance is mandatory!_

_I’ll see you there!_

_  
_ _Pupupupu~!_

 

* * *

 

**_wat_ **

“Of course that fucking bear had something to do with this. . .” I groan loudly. With a sigh, I pinch my brows in irritation.

“H-Harukawa-san?” Kiibo’s voice hesitantly calls out. I look away from the TV screen to find Maki dropped the knife with a loud **CLUNK** and her knees were trembling. She looked violently ill, her hand cupped to her mouth while the other struggled to grab the edge of the counter for balance. Something about it was familiar; like the first time I heard about Monokuma. . .

“What do we do?” Ikiko asks in a soft voice.

“It’s mandatory, we don't have much of a choice on what to do. . .” I respond, watching Kiibo fuss about in an attempt to help calm Maki down. “Harukawa-chan,” I begin slowly and gently. “I know you don’t want to listen to me, much less see that bear, but something strange has happened to you and if anyone has answers, it’s that bear.”

“H-How can I trust someone like you. . .?” She questions, her voice trembling. I recall the knife on the floor, I reach down and grab it, offering the handle of it to her. Maki looks between the knife and myself, clearly confused by my actions.

“You’re still wearing the emblem of my clan. As long as you wear that you’ll be safe.” Maki carefully takes the knife from me, looking between it and the awkward smile on my face.

“Emblem of your clan. . .?” She repeats as she finally takes the knife. I reach out for the broch centered on the ribbon of her fuku and gently tap it.

“The Blooming Hart. It’s the symbol of peace and hope. The most important aspect of it, is that only I can replicate it. Any other attempts to create it will be warped, proving that they are false and a danger.”

“It belongs to you. . .?” Maki’s fingers brush against the broach, a confused look on her face. “Sensei would wear her own broach in this shape. .  .She always said it was from a friend.” She thoughtfully brings a finger to her lip for a few moments as she mauls over something. “Iidabashi-kun said you’re called Kazehaya-san. . . I doubt you’re the same Kazehaya-san sensei knew being only nineteen and all. Is ‘Kazehaya’ a shared title or something. . .?”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that.” I admit with a heavy sigh as I glanced to the side with a hand on my hip. “There was someone else who used that name -- a girl named Aphrodite. It’s . . . complicated but it’s the way I honor her. It’s what I do to keep her name alive.”

“I see. . .” Maki softly replies, playing with her long damaged brown hair. She seemed upset. Perhaps with herself for assuming the worst of the situation. Shaking my head, I simply smile in return.

“Don't worry, things are fine. We should get going however. If we don't arrive in time, Monokuma will most likely send an Exisal after us.” I explain, making my way to the kitchen door with a hand around Ikiko’s wrist. Still, confused by the situation, she fumbles to follow after me as I push past Maki and Kiibo, whispering a soft ‘excuse me’.

“An Exisal?” Maki repeats as she follows from a short distance. I’m not sure if I should be offended or not by that but it’s most likely because she’s so unfamiliar with us seeing how she’s following closely beside Kiibo once she sheathed the knife the waiting holder under her long red socks. Nevertheless, there’s no real reason to make a big deal out of nothing. . .

“Ah, they’re giant combat mechas piloted by Monokuma’s children.” Kiibo explains.

“Children shouldn’t pilot giant machines. . .” Was her immediate reply with a huff as she tugged on the ribbon on her fuku. It was pretty cute. Illegal. This is highly illegal.

“If it’s any consolation they’re robots, so they’re programed beforehand how to safely pilot the mechas.”

“Oh.” Maki hums, before softly smiling. “Well, I’m sure they’re nowhere as advanced as you Iidabashi-kun!“ Kiibo blinked in surprise before pridefully blushing and puffing his chest out as he rested his hands on his hips.

“But of course! No one can surpass Professor Iidabashi’s incredible work!” Maki simply laughs, her voice full of confidence as she agreed with Kiibo.

“What do you think is wrong with her. . .?” Ikiko softly asks. I could only uselessly shrug one shoulder.

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, Monokuma probably knows.”

“Do you think it’s possible. . .? To change an entire personality?”

“I mean, I acted like a completely different person when I had amnesia but also the surroundings also shaped my responses.”

But Maki doesn’t have amnesia.

At least, I don’t think so.

She is missing the same basic memory as everyone else -- that being no one has any idea how they ended up on the campus in the first place -- but that aside, she clearly remembers a different string of memories. She knows exactly who Kiibo is and she could recognize Monokuma.  So, maybe this isn’t a personality swap at all, but . . . a memory swap? But how can you swap memories at all?

Oh-!!

 

* * *

 

_“It’s one of those fuckin’ lights!” Miu hollers._

_“A_ **_Flashback Light_** _!” Ouma beams. He skips over to the treasure chest to grab it but Monokuma quickly scoops it up._

 _“Sorry, that’s a no go.” He teasingly waves it between his paws, amusement on his stupid face. “These Flashback Lights are_ **_no longer necessary_ ** _. . . You brats don't have to worry about recovering your memories anymore.”_

 

* * *

 

Maybe the **Flashback Light** made Maki remember something? Or even, **imprinted new memories?** If these lights were made by Monokuma, who’s to say they were genuine? They could be used to make someone ‘remember’ anything he wanted, all so everything could move according to his plans and desires.

Still, Monokuma said the lights were **unnecessary**. So why would they be used now? I don't know, but perhaps there’s an explanation waiting for us at the gym.

. . .

As expected, the first to arrive at the gym was the four of us; Ikiko and myself stood off to the side while Kiibo tried to get Maki up to speed with everything. Which would honestly was Bad Times Central. I didn't want Kiibo to discuss this alone but Maki trusted him more than anyone around here at the moment so it felt it would be the best for him to try. . .

“B-But Kaede-chan. . .! Who would hurt her?!” Maki urgently demands, tears bubbling up in her eyes. Kiibo uncomfortably sweats, unsure of how to handle this situation as Maki was just so different from what he knew before.

“It was Toujou-san, but she was unfortunately under the effects of a curse when she carried out the . . . the murder. . .” He mumbles. “We . . . We don't know who cursed her, so, whoever they are, they’re living among us, so please be careful Harukawa-san.”

“B-But why Kaede. . .? I loved her so much . . . Everyone loved her. . .!” Maki’s voice is uncomfortable desperate as she begs for answers. Kiibo makes a few uncomfortable gestures with his hands before he shakily pulls Maki in for a hug. She accepts his kind gesture and returns it as tightly as possible. Kiibo looks back my way for help, so I swiftly approach him.

“What’s up?”

“It seems Harukawa-san was in . . .a relationship with Akamatsu-san before we were forced to participate in this Killing Game.”

“What.”

“I know it sounds weird. . . but I. . . I think she’s being genuine and perhaps what we’re forgetting . . . **is that we met each other before**. To be honest, I’ve begun to request people refer to me as ‘Iidabashi-kun’ but for Harukawa-san to refer to me in such a way before I told her. . . isn’t that odd?” I thoughtfully bring a hand to my chin and furrow my brows.

As strange as that sounds, it doesn’t seem so strange upon thinking about it. Perhaps the holes in Ikiko and Kaito’s respective memories stem from the fact they met another captive before they ended up imprisoned here. Someone who may have offered money to Ikiko so she could survive after the loss of her sister and continue living as a student rather than forced to work full time to survive. Someone who had connections to Kaito’s brother Aki and told him about him, which caused him to turn to his grandparents in question, who then told him the whole story.

And if that was true, that would make this entire situation all the more tragic because, everyone would be killing and executing friends they’ve known and yet forgot. . . It sounds like something up Monokuma’s alley.

“But, wouldn’t that mean Harukawa-chan’s personality was altered from the beginning then?” I slowly question. Because, even _if_ this theory makes sense, there’s the fact she was completely different from the start and I simply can't understand _why_. What would the point be to intentionally giving her a completely different personality and then suddenly change it back to the original now?

“You’re right, that is quite strange. . .” Kiibo murmurs.

“Was I. . . Was I really that different . . .?” Maki softly questions between a sniffle.

“You were very closed off and glared a lot at everyone and everything.” Ikiko offers, padding over to join the  conversation. I withhold the need to yell out of surprise with her sneaking up and all. Good move me. “Still, you seemed to trust Kazehaya-chan quite a bit. Around the campus, we have labs to help improve on our talents and when your first open, you wouldn't let anyone see it for a while. She was the first you let into your lab and she helped update it as Monokuma did a poor job preparing it, according to you.” Maki blinks in surprise.

“That doesn't sound like me at all. . .” Maki sighs, pulling away from Kiibo and pouting a bit as she crossed her arms. “I mean, sure, I get defensive if the kids or the orphanage is in danger but I’m not usually like that with people I’m close to. . .”

“Well, I doubt that happens often if you’re the one caring for them.” Ikiko offers with a smile. Maki pouts, lightly tugging on one of her ponytails.

“Usually, nothing happens. Not anymore.” That was not a GOOD implication. . . “But I still worry about shady people hanging around the orphanage. . . things have kinda pulled itself together in the last few or so years.” So, assuming the actual Maki was not an assassin that would mean she was a genuine childcare provider and she kept a knife _because_ of people sneaking around the orphanage. That's. . . that's honestly a concerning thought.

“Not anymore? So that means, unsavory people were hanging around your orphanage?” Kiibo inquires, sounding just as concerned about the implications.

“It’s fine. They don't anymore and that’s kinda. . . how things were back then, ya’know? It’s gotten better with the **Future Foundation** ’s help. But it used to be really bad and sometimes creeps come out of the woodwork. . .” She sadly sighs, curling her hair around her finger.

The Future Foundation. . . They were supposed to be graduates from Hope’s Peak Academy that worked in an exclusive organization to further aid people in need with their talents and skills rather than simply acquiring jobs after graduation. I suppose it makes sense they would dedicate time cleaning up that **Incident** since it originated from their school.

“I guess you guys really can't remember what it was like back then?” Maki continues. She sighs then shakes her head tiredly. “To be honest, no one knows who those people were hanging around the orphanage, but anytime I saw them I made a scene -- kicking, screaming, fighting. I did anything I could to get the matron’s attention and they ran off running the second they saw her coming.

“It scared off potential people that may have adopted me but I didn't care. I just didn't want anyone to get taken by those creeps, you know? They tried to grab me a few times but I couldn’t let them. So, I fought with tooth and nail everytime those creeps grabbed me. . .It’s . . . It’s kinda how I got some scars. . .” Maki sheepishly laughs, tugging at her fuku’s ribbon once more before pulling up the sleeve of her uniform. Starting at her elbow was the beginning of a faded scar, which crawled up her arm to the point it reached under the sleeve of her clothes. Okay. Damn.

“Wow! Harumaki! I had no idea you were so hardcore!” Kaito’s familiar voice rings through the air. During the conversation he and Shuuichi slipped inside the Gym, the detective slowly padding along behind him while he held onto Kaito’s hand.

“Oh, so you two finally confessed.” I laugh. Kaito stops mid-step, his face frozen in a smile as his cheeks flush a bright red color. Shuuichi sheepishly squeaks and hides his face in Kaito’s backside. Smiling, I approach the two and drag them off to the side for a moment.

“Kaito, did you have to bang him _now_?” I question in a low deadpan tone to make sure the others didn’t hear. Kaito’s face flushes an even darker shade of red and Shuuichi immediately tries to hide his face in his hands.

“W-What are you talking about?” He uselessly sputters.

“If you think I didn’t notice that limp and know what it means, you are a fool. My fool I love and cherish but a fool nonetheless.” I continue to deadpan.

In retrospect Jojo and Nori were not as subtle as they wanted to be but no one wanted to point it out; Joseph had his experiences with Caesar, Avdol and Polnareff obviously got together early into the trip and, at the time, I was married, had a kid and had multiple partners. So of course I know what it looks like when two idiots bang too hard.

Regardless, others soon entered the gym wearing their pajamas looking tired and annoyed to be awake at 6AM. Although, Ouma looks adorable with his plush orca under his arm as Amami directs him where to go. He smiles as he approaches me before his face grew serious.

“Do you know what Monokuma is up to this time?” My eyes dart over to Maki, who was smiling near in tears as she looked over everyone. Kiibo fretted once more, trying to help her calm down but she simply smiled as she explained she’s so happy.

“It’s only a theory,” I begin when I glance back to him. “but I think he used a Flashback Light on Maki.”

“You dropped surnames and honorifics again.” Amami points out with a slight laugh before what I said actually sink in. “Wait, why would he use one of those? Didn't he say we didn't ‘need’ to remember?”

“He did but--” I’m cut off as Maki suddenly pushed past me and threw her arms around Amami’s shoulders. He handles the surprising gesture better than Kiibo did and easily returns the gesture, gently patting her back once he notices the tears in her eyes.

“A-Amami-kun! You’re alive. . .! I was so worried when you vanished! Shortly after you left. . . Shirogane-chan did too. . . A-And now she’s . . .!” Huh. So not only is it Kiibo and Kaede she’s familiar with. . .but even Amami and Shirogane. . . With the way she looked at everyone, perhaps the answer was quite simple; **Everyone** **_was_ ** **connected somehow.**

“H-Harukawa-san, what are you talking about. . . ?” Amami cautiously ventures.

“T-They. . . **_They_ ** were spotted near the campus. . . Sensei warned you that you shouldn’t leave campus but you didn't listen!” Maki sobs, rubbing her face against his pajama shirt. Amami seems uncomfortable with the gesture for a moment but he gently rubs her shoulder to help calm her down. “You left and despite reassuring us everything would be okay, **_they_ ** **. . .** **_they_ ** **kidnapped you!** They send us all these awful threatening letters and pictures of you in captivity! It was awful! **It was like. . . it was like someone was trying to make those stories real!** ”

“Harumaki, what are you talking about . . . ?” Kaito questions. It was the burning question on all of our minds. Could the campus she be talking about be a branch of Hope’s Peak? Or was one built during the six years I was absent? But, who was **_they_**? And what stories could she be talking about?

But no answers would come as Monokuma finally made his grand arrival. He taps his paw against the microphone on the podium on the stage and clears his throat. Maki’s expression warps into utter terror, her fingers shaking as her nails dig into Amami’s shirt. He holds her close as he glares at the stuffed bear but as usual, Monokuma doesn't even care.

“Thank you for gathering on such a short notice! As your superintendent, it leaves me with no pride to say this. . .” A heavy pause hangs in the air and Monokuma begins to sweat anxiously. “I made a big mistake.”

“You . . . what?” Shuuichi questions out loud. Monokuma sweats, twiddling his paws.

“ _Look_ , I know I said you don't need the  **Flashback Lights** , and that’s because they have nothing to do with **The Reckoning**! But I got curious, okay?!”

“And you used one on Maki?” I deadpan, furrowing my brows. Monokuma’s beady eyes dart around before looking down to his feet.

“N-Not _intentionally_. I just was messing around with the machine that makes them. . . You know, just playing with the setting and stuff! And I saw her returning to her dorm after that stupid nightly work out and I decided ‘oh hey, I should try and, like, I donno point it at her?’. . .” Monokuma vaguely shrugs.

“You have no idea how they work, do you?” Ouma questions, his tone both cutting and annoyed. “I didn't think it was possible for you to be even more annoying and useless. . .”

“I didn't make them!” Monokuma argues, throwing his paws up in the air. “I think I busted the one I got when I dropped it ‘cause as soon as I pointed it at her the stupid thing turned on! The light hit her and she fainted! I had to drag her body her room and then fight that stupid useless machine to figure out what I accidentally blasted her with!”

“How could you be so cruel to blast her!?” Gonta cries in horror, not understanding that Monokuma was talking in the metaphorical sense. Gonta immediately questions if Maki is alright and required a lift to the hospital wing for any assistance. That manages to get a laugh out of her but she assures Gonta she is not in any physical pain.

“So. . . the Harumaki here is one that knows how we got here? What the outside world is like--?!” Kaito questions with excitement. His eyes shine with curiosity and joy as for once we can finally make some progress in understanding what the fuck is going on around here.

“Tut-tut Momota-kun!” Monokuma beams, regaining his usual cursed demenior. “If it’s forbidden for your beloved to talk about it, why would it be okay if she talked about?! That would be unfair! To be honest, the reason _why_ I gathered you all was to inform you that rule fifteen was updated as a consequence of my foolish actions!”

With that, thirteen loud pings filled the room indicating that the rules logged in our Monopads just updated. Retrieving the item from my bag, I flip the switch to turn it on and pull up the list of rules and regulations.

* * *

 

 **RULE** **UPDATED** **!**

 **#15:** Questioning Yuuki Kazehaya AND/OR Maki Harukawa about the state of the outside world is strictly forbidden. In addition, neither of the aforementioned prisoners are allowed to simply tell any other prisoner about the state of the outside world. If any information of the forbidden subject is discussed, one prisoner will chosen at random and executed right on the spot, no trial or begging will change the decision.

 

* * *

 

Of course that was going to come back and bite me in the ass. . . Still, this was still a lot to take in but all of this chaos also provided a new source of insight on the state of things and everyone’s background. It’s a tad questionable given the circumstances but applying what I do know it makes sense. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ravioli ravioli i am so tiredoli 
> 
> //slams head facedown on desk


	40. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {09}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /dabs
> 
> i can fianlly post these because ive been holding onto these designs for MONTHS  
> https://imgur.com/a/EAGdC8l  
>   
> edit: unrelated, this is chapter 40 of suzuran and i began writing the first chapter on november 4th  
> haha WHAT  
> its been a year writing this shit and im currently at 237k words  
> 

* * *

 

 _“Today, all of everyone’s hard work and endeavors pay off!”_ Monokuma declares, beaming oh so brightly as his children visibly vibrate with glee. _“It is now 10AM, so I am proud to say, the very first festival for The Gifted Inmates Academy is OPEN!!”_

The Monokubs jump in the air, cheering with glee as balloons and confetti flying away to mark the opening for this event and with the very brief opening ceremony over the TV screen shuts off.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- French Café -** ](https://youtu.be/K2Q6YO3Ez44)

While I waited in the sideroom -- busy warming the food one last time with some light fire magic -- Shuuichi and Kaito stood by the door. Kaito did one more glance over his uniform -- a dark purple suit with a wide notch lapel, black dress shirt with a classic collar and a matching purple bow tie, and a pair of white gloves and shiny black dress shoes. He looks to Shuuichi to ask if his uniform is in order and with the nod of his partner’s head Kaito opens the door to the cafe to indicate it was open.

He was a bit surprised to see a few people were already waiting outside the door. He glances over to Shuuichi and his sidekick takes the lead. Together they bow their heads, Kaito brings a polite hand to his chest and Shuuichi gently gathers the end of his skirt to curtsy.

“Welcome to L’araignée Noire.” They announce together. Predictably, Miu breaks out into an ugly laughter but she quickly shuts up when I poke my head out of my nook and give her a look. Gonta gasps, bringing his hands to his mouth as his eyes sparkled.

“Gonta did not think Saihara-kun could look even more beautiful than usual . . .!”

“I’d have to agree. It’s looks quite charming on him.” Amami chuckles, blushing just a bit as he rubs the back of his head. Shuuichi sheepishly blushes in return, thanking the two young men for their words.

“Allow me to show you to your seats.” Kaito offers with a smile as he motions to the waiting table in the room. He politely pulls a chair out from the table for each of them and Shuuichi helped pushes them in before handing each of them one of the excellent handcrafted menus made by Ikiko.

At each seat was a set up commonly used in French restaurants -- a plate for presentation in the center of the set up, followed by is a folded black napkin and two forks, one for fish and one for meat, on the left. Above the silverware was a small plate for breads and cheese. Resting on the table above the plate was a knife for cheese and a spoon for desserts. On the right hand side of the plate was a knife for fish and meat and then a single spoon for soups.

Kaito returned to the table to fill their glasses with fresh icy cold water and while everyone looked over their menu Shuuichi placed a small basket of bread was placed in the center of the table and began to drizzle the herb and oil dipping for the bread on their bread plates.

With everything in place, Shuuichi nervously questions; “B-Bonjour, what would you like this afternoon?”

“Bonjour,” Amami greets in return. Of course he would know about French formalities even when ordering. “I have a shift in an hour so I hope it’s not rude to ask for the chef to prepare my food as soon as possible, otherwise you can set aside what I ordered for later. . .”

“I’m sure Kazehaya-san would be glad to do that for you Amami-kun,” Shuuichi shyly smiles. Amami smiles once more and looks back to the menu to read off his order; Prawn Cocktail, French Onion soup, Smoked Salmon tea sandwich served with Darjeeling White Tea and a Strawberry Shortcake.

Gonta fumbled over his words just a bit but Shuuichi helpfully corrected him along the way with a kind voice and gentle smile that had Amami starstruck the entire time. He requested Scottish Tattie Scones, Caesar Salad, an Egg Salad tea sandwich Earl Gray Tea and Rice Pudding for desert. 

Miu spent the most time staring at her menu, a piece of bread shoved in her mouth the entire time and dropping crumbs everywhere as she finally made her order. Prawn Cocktail, Leek soup, Curry Chicken tea sandwich with a Mocha and a Strawberry Shortcake.

Shuuichi thanks them and bows his head before making his way to the back corner of the room, behind some folding screens, to deliver the goods to me. I began to arrange the hors d'oeuvres in a presentable manner; the triangular potato scones were neatly arranged in a circular formation on his plate and facing the same direction to keep up the image.

The completed plate is moved to a waiting silver platter and I move on to preparing the Prawn Cocktails, pouring cocktail sauce into half of the bowl into a vintage wine glass and arranging several shrimps and prawns along the edge of the glass along with a slice of lemon. The glasses are placed on their own plates, which are then placed on the platter and then handed off to Shuuichi.

“You’re doing well so far,” I smile. “Just keep it cool and go to Kaito if you need help, alright?” Shuuichi nods his head and softly thanks me as he delicately takes the tray. Shuuichi returns to the table, placing each hors d'oeuvres plate on top of the plate already set up at the table.

“Please enjoy.” He smiles. Kaito returns to the table side, pushing a Baroque style tea trolley that carried their drinks with a few bowls containing creams and sugars. Kaito places the creams and sugar down on the table before setting out everyone’s respective drinks and saucers before them along with a tool to stir their drinks.

Shuuichi finds it a bit adorable how Amami likes quite a few sweet things -- seeing how he’s added quite a bit of sugar cubes to his drink. For someone that looks so cool and collected he has quite a cute streak. He quietly laughs to himself, earning a curious look for Kaito. He finds himself blushing once more, causing him to hastily look aside, but Kaito scoots a little closer to him and takes a hold of his hand.

“Gonta has a question.” Gonta suddenly announces. All eyes turn to him and Miu crassly asks ‘What is it Big Dick?’ Gonta is horrified by the title she has gifted him, Shuuichi blushes just a bit while both Kaito and Amami give her an apathetic look.

“I. . .yes, what is your question, Master?” Shuuichi sighs, giving Miu an annoyed look. She immediately shrivels, finding herself horrified to be rejected by even Shuuichi for her phrasing.

“Eh? Gonta is master?” Gonta blinks in confusion, completely baffled by the title.

“All of our guests are our masters and mistresses while they visit the cafe as our guests.” Shuuichi explains. Miu makes a face as if she’s plotting something but she immediately clams up when she sees Shuuichi’s annoyed face.

“Gonta sees!” The gentle giant beams, the kindest of smiles on his face. “Oh, but Gonta’s question! What does ‘L’araignée Noire’ mean? Gonta has never heard that before!”

“Ah, the name and theme of the cafe was Kazehaya-san’s idea. . . It’s based around French culture, something she is familiar with as her godparents are French themselves. In fact, the name is French as well, it means ‘The Black Spider’.”

“. . .Toujou-san’s clothes and a number of her belongings had a spider designs.” Amami notes looking over the rim of his cup before taking a careful sip of his tea. “It wouldn't be wrong to assume she chose the name to honor her, right?” He adds as he lowers the cup back onto it’s saucer.

“That would be correct.” Shuuichi nods. Miu loudly groans, lowering her cup against the saucer with a loud clunk.

“Of course she would.” Miu scoffs. “She’s the type to leave tributes to people that die, especially if she blames herself.” An uncomfortable gloom hung over the cafe suddenly. They’ve all come to an understanding that Toujou being executed for the murder of Kaede was a situation that was more out of their hand than a fair trial.

As we learned, thanks to our investigation, there was bad magic involved that forced her to commit the crime but, at the end of the day, it was still her hands. Even after all this time, I still haven't been able to pinpoint _who_ did the deed -- as the only ones confirmed to have magic have not shown any instances of ill intentions -- so there wasn't much more we can do in that aspect.

“I think. . . she feels some amount of guilt.” Shuuichi softly admits. “Toujou-san was very hospitable to her when she first arrived at the campus and was the one who provided her with housing when she first arrived. . . and it’s because she was housed by Toujou-san, she found a vital piece of evidence to use against her.”

“Yeah, that sounds like that dumbass. . .” Miu dismissively mutters. “Always running around, telling us to be good to ourselves, only to treat herself like shit.”

“That is unfortunate. . .” Shuuichi quietly murmurs as he collects the cleaned hors d'oeuvres plates. Kaito returns from the kitchen with their soups and salads, setting them out before the person who ordered them and gave them a charming smile, which seemed to kill the conversation for the time being. Kaito returns to Shuuichi’s side, gently resting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a smile. Shuuichi smiles back just as fondly as the other gazed upon him.

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon goes without any problems. Gonta is the first to finish his meal, he thanks everyone for such a nice meal and afternoon he shared with them all before taking his leave with a wave and giant smile on his face. Miu left shortly after, saying she had some things to finalize before her haunted exhibit opened up later in the day.

“I’ll admit, I was a bit worried when I learned you’d be helping Saihara-kun at the cafe.” Amami laughs as his desert plate is removed from the table by Kaito’s gloves hands. “However, you seem to be doing just fine for someone who was sick the last few days. You shouldn't worry your partners like that, ya know?” It wasn’t _meant_ to come out as a jab, but it sure came across as one. Still, Kaito kept face since the other was right. He shouldn't have worried them the way he did. He should have been honest with them both.

“You’re correct about that, _Master._ ” Kaito smoothly delivers as he places the dirty silverware on the waiting tray that would be run to the kitchen for a nice cleaning. Amami’s face explodes with red and he he visitible shivers at the low husky tone Kaito used to deliver that accursed line. Amami hastily looks away to Shuuichi, he gently takes the detective’s hand and brings it to his lips to kiss the soft skin.

“However, I do hope I’m not overstepping boundaries by asking you to accompany me to the dance in two day’s time.” Shuuichi’s blushing caused his pretty pale skin to flush a bright red hue. He glances over to Kaito for a moment but seeing his boyfriend giving him a smug look and he knew he wouldn't be upset if he took Amami’s invitation.

“I-I would like that Amami-kun. . .” Amami smiles brightly, practically glowing with joy. He happily clasps Shuuichi’s hand in his grasp and gently kisses his cheek.

“I’m glad to hear that Saihara-kun! I look forward to our date!” Amami beams as he leaves the cafe with a spring in his steep.

“Kaito, that was pretty fucking gay.” I call, poking my head out of the screen walls outside the kitchen. Luckily it was just the three of us here now, so that didn't destroy the formal air of the cafe too much. Either way, I was laughing because I knew he was blushing.

 

* * *

 

At twelve-fifty, Ryouma and Ikiko were the only guests present in the cafe at this time of day, so Shuuichi slid into the hall to bring the OPEN sign back inside to signal as we were approached the end of our cafe shift for this leg of the event. Additionally, Kaito was a bit more lax this late into the shift so he was eagerly entertaining himself with one of the robotic cats.

Ryouma didn’t mind it at all. He was smirking over the rim of his glass after all. Or he was until Shuuichi delivered his desert, a Tiramisu, to him. I even went out of my way to make a cat face out of the chocolate drizzle on top, so hearing him gasp made it clear how much he loved it.

Ikiko quietly laughed over the rim of her tea cup, a pleasant smile on her face. She carefully sets her cup down on the saucer and smiles pleasantly as she looks around the cafe once more.

“It really looks lovely! Kazehaya-san really has an eye for decorating!”

“It comes with owning a house.” I smile as I place her serving of rice pudding before her.

“You’re nineteen and a homeowner?” Ryouma questions, doubt clear in his voice.

“I’ve owned many homes and places of housing over the years thanks to my work.” After a pause, I add; “Although most were temporary. . . but, I need something more permanent for my kids and lovers, so we got a nice house on the hills built that overlook a small. . .”

wait

i havent mentioned nevgelo to them at all

“A small. . .?” Ikiko repeats.

“Kingdom, right?” Ryouma chuckles. “Gokuhara mentioned you inherited some kingdom after freeing it from its previous rulers.” Shuuichi blinks, looking to me with big wide eyes. Ikiko quietly gasps, bringing her hands to her mouth.

“What.” Kaito flatly responds. I awkwardly rub the back of my head, looking a bit flustered.

“I wouldn't say I inherited it. I was just. . . elected after the civil war to an end?” I fumble to explain with an awkward shrug of my shoulders. “There's this tradition where the rulers must seek approval by the three mythical creatures of the land and the three of them, ya know, provided me aid during the war so the people of Nevgelo thought I was the best possible candidate to take over the throne.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re a queen?” Kaito questions in a slow tone as if he could not believe what the hell he was hearing. I could only helplessly shrug in return. I had hoped to discuss this in a way more reasonable way, not as some random conversation to have over food but that's clearly not going to happen today.

“I mean, on paper. I guess. I leave all the work to my husband Jack since he was the exiled prince and he knows more about the kingdom than I could.”

“Why was he exiled?” Shuuichi ponders, bringing his hand to his mouth in thought.

“Because he called his parents out on their racist-classist bullshit.” I explain, a stupid smile on my face as I wink and point my fingers at him. He simply responds with an ‘Ah’. I’m not sure what he was expecting but hearing that Jack’s parents were the cause of a war, he probably didn't have a good list of theories.

“Well, good riddance then.” Ryouma hums, taking a sip from his glass of milk. A cat leaps into his lap, trying to reach for his glass but he easily holds it out of the way, telling the robot that milk is bad for cats.. . .Is it? Shit. This is the whole ‘Carrots are Bad for Rabbits but I was Conditioned to Think Otherwise Thanks to Bugs Bunny’ thing all over again.

“My, it sounds like your missionary trips aren't calm at all. . .” Ikiko sighs, balancing her head in the palm of her hand. “Still, ending a war and becoming a queen and yet, you live in a humble house on the hill!”

“It’s better that way.” I sigh. “In a house it’s easier to care for our children. They’re surrounded by love and they can easily find someone if they need something. We adults all prefer a hands on method in raising our kids anyway. Besides, whatever child Jack and I have will inherit the castle as his heir, as long as that’s what the child wants anyway. We don't really pre-choose the fate of our children, we let them live how they want as long as it’s safe and reasonable.” Kaito suddenly wraps an arm around my shoulder, dragging me closer to him. He affectionately rubs my arm and there’s a wide grin on his face.

“I bet your kids are gonna reach the stars Yuuki!” He beams. If we get technical, some have already as they’ve visited other worlds but I find myself laughing anyway.

“They’ll be our kids.” I beam. “You and Shuuichi will make wonderful fathers!” Kaito blushes a bit while Shuuichi wheezes as it suddenly strikes him, if we were to get married, he would most certainly be the father to my children. Something he previously gave Kaito shit about. “I’m sure we’ll make some cute kids too!” I add with a laugh. They both wheeze, nearly toppling over in shock and defeat. Apparently the thought of children was too much for them. Which is fair. Not everyone wants kids or sometimes it’s too soon to think of that. . . but it’s hard to _not_ think of that. They’re both such wonderful people.

“Hmm, seems like you have your future all planned out . . .” Ryouma muses.

“I mean, you can only really plan for it, ya know?” I muse. “You never know what’s going to happen. Plans can change or life makes it complicated . . . but the journey with a loved one is more important to me.” When Shinjiro and I, uh, spent the night together. . . we said we wanted to have a house together and a few dogs. We got the dogs -- Koromaru and Iggy -- and a house, although its a bit more like a mansion at this point given the size of the clan but Shinjiro. . . cannot have kids however.

The drugs he took to suppress his Persona after a certain incident has unfortunately left him infertile, along with a few other health problems, so a child is not entirely possible. At least birthed. We do have plans to adopt, which was something he was more than eager to do as an orphan himself. I’m sure we’ll find a beautiful child and bring them home to a place where they can be loved.

Life isn't exactly flowing the way we initially wanted or thought it would but, it’s just fine the way it is.

 

* * *

 

Once 1PM hits, L’araignée Noire closes its doors and The Russian Blue opens up for the next three hour shift. Shuuichi and Kaito change out of their uniforms before joining me to do some cleaning so we wouldn’t have to deal with it later when it’s time to open up again for the last shift of the day.

Thankfully there was little work to do thanks to the two of them taking turns sweeping up around the table and wiping it down between seating new customers. So the major thing to take care was properly storing the food until the next shift. It was easy enough given the kitchenette had a fridge and plenty of space to store food.

Once everything was cleaned up, I told Shuuichi it’s probably for the best that he rests for a bit before we meet up at my lab at 2PM. He blushed as he caught on to what I was referring to as the reason he should rest but he nods his head nonetheless. Kaito’s arm wraps around his shoulder and he kisses the top of Shuuichi’s head, who lightly laughs in return as he leans into Kaito’s side.

[ **\- Carnival Stage -** ](https://youtu.be/AwkPvrH6AT8)

I wave goodbye to the two of them before making my way to the classroom where Amami hosted his carnival games. However, he was leaning against the wall between Classroom 2-A and 2-B with his arms crossed and the two classroom doors wide open to reveal what was inside them. Shuuichi informed me a game of Yo-yo Tsuri and a senbonhiki in 2-B but it looked like a Wanage -- ring toss -- game was added as well. Meanwhile, something like musical chairs and a costume booth and camera was set up in 2-A. Upon noticing me Amami smiles and waved in my direction.  “Good afternoon Kazehaya-san!” He greets. I smile and wave back.

“Same to ya! So, what’s poppin’ over here?” Amami blinks before breaking out into laughter. He chuckles into his closed fist and clutches his side.

“What’s poppin’?!” He repeats between a wheezy laugh.

“It’s not that funny. . .” I mumble but he’s still laughing. Jesus Christ Man Get It Together. Amami finally gets it together after laughing for a minute longer. He wipes the tears from the corner of his eye he gives me a smile.

“R-Right, we have a variety of games, and depending on how good you do you can earn tickets. These tickets are used for the senbonhiki.” With a laugh, he shrugs his shoulders. “You never know what you’re gonna get.” I thoughtfully hum before making my decision on what to do now. I approach the Yo-yo Tsuri game with Amami on my tail.

Once we are before the stand he explains that balloons are worth more points than others based on their colors and how many tickets are obtained on the end affected by the total of points. With his usual smile he hands me a small fishing rod with a paper string and a hook attached to the end. The paper string and the fact the balloons were filled with water was what made the game such a challenge since it wasn't waterproof so you would have to be quick and precise to get the balloon you wanted.

It was probably the only game I could play without using magic or my natural enhanced strength to my advantage and I did enjoy fishing. Even if I did suck at it. Nevertheless, I glanced over to the signs that hang on the beams that supported the sign of the booth. One sign stated the value of the balloons colors and the other listed the exchange rate between points and tickets.

“How many tickets do I need to pull a string from the senbonhiki?” I ask as I glance over the balloons bobbing in the tub of water. It didn't help that they were all various sizes but the bigger ones, worth the most points, were under other balloons and inevitably heavier than any other one.

“Ten tickets but you can only fish ten balloons out per round or until your string breaks, so keep that in mind!” He beams. I nod to myself and begin fishing for balloons while he walks away to greet the individual that was approaching the door. I didn't really pay much attention to who was visiting until a soft and fluffy feeling brushed against my leg. I look to my side as I pull out a green balloon to find the cutest goddamn floofy black cat I’ve ever seen.

I loudly gasp, my eyes sparkling as I bring a hand to my mouth in awe. The cat looks back at me with its adorable yellow eyes as it belp’d at me. Adorable. Precious. Loveable. I eagerly extend my hand to the cat, nearly vibrating in place, she gives it a stare for a few moments before rubbing her head against my hand. My hand moves over the top of her head before moving along to carefully stroke her backside. The cat delightfully purrs, shifting onto its side as I ran my hand all over her body.

“How dare you!” A voice gasps before a body is pressing against my own and arms rest on my head. That voice is clearly Ouma’s. “No one is allowed to touch Panta but me!”

“You named your cat Panta?” I ask, trying to stop myself from laughing. It’s a really silly name but the cat itself looks kinda silly with how detached from reality it looks, which I find to be adorable, and the way Ouma huffs is adorable as well.

“Don't criticize my naming skills!” I can hear the pout in his voice, making me laugh just a little bit more.

“Well, that’s not my fault. The cutie came over to me first.” I stroke the underside of the cat’s chin eliciting a cute little purr out of her. Man. Who cares if these are robot cats. They’re just so lifelike and I love them. Ouma gasps in mock horror.

“Panta, how could you betray me like this!?” The cat simply meows. Ouma sighs, shaking his head at the cat before capturing her in his arms. He teases and coos at the cat with joy clear on his face. I pull on my line, removing a green balloon from the tub. I place it in a nearby bucket and look over my choices again.

“You seem to be really attached to her.” Amami chuckles, walking over to Ouma with a handful of colorful rings. Panta jumps out of Ouma’s arms, making him pout as he watches the cat lay down beside me, watching my attempts to fish, but he decides to let it be as Amami walks him over to the Wanage booth.

There are three levels in the booth, all littered with colored pegs of red, blue and yellow -- the same colors used for the rings -- Amami explains certain color combinations are worth more points than others and if a ring is matched with its colored peg it will earn the tosser a bonus. Just like with the Yo-yo Tsuri, a sign indicated what was worth how many points and how many points would translate to how many tickets.

I look back to Panta, watching her thoughtlessly dip her paw in the water and lick it right off a few times. Its so fuckign cute. I scritch the cat’s head once more before focusing on my fishing once again. I pull a smaller white balloon out of the water, which joins the other balloon in the bucket.

 

* * *

 

“The string isnt wet at all.” Amami comments, looking at the fishing pole in my hand. My eyes dart away as I whistle innocently. He sighs, placing his hands on his hips. “Well, this is what I get for not forbidden you from using magic. I’ll let it slide this once. . .” He looks over the balloons in the bucket, tallying up the amount of points and placing five tickets in my hand. He collects the fishing pole and carefully places the ten balloons into the tank once more.

I shuffle over to the Wanage game where Amami hands me over some rings, he gives me a serious look before simply saying; Don't use magic. I stick my tongue out in response but all that gets me in return is a soft laugh from him and a pat on my head. Ouma lay on the floor beside the stand, pouting at his collection of three tickets but he lightens up the moment Panta waddles over to him. Ouma gathers he cat in his arms, gently kissing her forehead and showering her with attention. The robotic cat mewls, curling up in his arms to show that she was content with the attention, which only makes Ouma smile wider with a little ‘Nishishi~!’.

adorable

goddamn

Shaking my head, I turn back to the rings, tossing them as best as I could without overdoing it and missing like a complete dumbass.

. . . It's a fifty-fifty, forcing me to replay the game a few times in order to obtain five more tickets so I could play the lottery. With a smile on his face, Amami guides me over to the booth and tells me to grab whichever string I want. I honestly have no idea what any of the prizes are but I guess that’s part of the fun. All of the items are wrapped boxes are of various sizes tied to the other end of the string so, it could be anything. But god. There better not be a box inside a box bullshit. I hate that shit.

The strings are all identical and the way the stand is built there are no hints to what is connected to what so, I just grab the nearest rope at random and give it a tug. A small box on a string rises up several inches into the air. Behind the counter Amami grabs the box, giving it an experimental tug to make sure its connected to the rope I’m holding into, seeing that it indeed it was, he unties the rope and opens the box. He blinks before humming softly and presenting me with an awkward smile. I tilt my head in confusion but he presents the box to me with that awkward smile still plastered on his face. Inside the box is strips of colorful paper that a single ring sits upon like a throne. It was an interesting ring as well -- made of cherry wood with an inlay that contained what appeared to be petals of some flower.

“Oh wow. . .I didn't think Angie could make something like this.” I softly gasp. Amami smiles, gently taking a hold of my left hand. For a moment, I was confused by his choice until I remembered I had quite a few on both of my hands -- I have a ring from my mother, adopted brother, my recorder ring for work. In addition to those three is the Mega Ring I revived long ago and a ring from one of my fiancés, which was represented proof of his humanity rather than acting as an engagement ring -- leaving him with the only option to slide the ring onto my left index finger.

I look down at the ring on my finger with a soft smile. It was really pretty. . . Looking back to Amami, he was smiling just as softly. . . and for a moment, it felt as if it was just the two of us. As if he just proposed to me. The thought gets me blushing wildly and that gentle smile on his face doesn't help at all.

“GROSS!” Ouma shouts, killing the moment before anything could actually happen. Suddenly being too aware of where I was, I blush brightly while Amami lets go of my hand and awkwardly cough. I manage to wave, bidding the two of them farewell for the time being.

 

* * *

 

[ **\- Riddles and Puzzles { 2nd Mix } -** ](https://youtu.be/TKXXv_kOj8A)

Two o’clock rears its head and my office, located in my Talent Lab, is has a number of visitors -- Shuuichi, Kaito, Ouma and Amami -- this afternoon so the kotasu was shoved to the side to make enough room for all of them to gather around [ a large cork board mounted on the wall ](https://www.lucidchart.com/invitations/accept/c30d0110-8c16-4c26-8678-4ffc7d7745c7), covered in sticky notes -- held in place with push pins and length of red string connecting certain notes to others -- that listed every detail and observation I’ve made about our situation thus far and whatever theories I had about them.

Most of the additional information came from things Maki said this morning before Monokuma barred any discussion about the outside world for good. Humming to myself I add two more more sticky note to the board; **‘monokuma says he doesnt know how the fuck flashback lights work’** in tinier print on the note was **‘how the fuck not. he made them’** and a red string connected this note to another that simply posed the question **‘a second mastermind?’**.

Stepping away from the board I take a moment to look it over and make sure I’ve accounted for all notes and details I’ve noticed so far when Ouma suddenly slaps two more notes to the web. I blink in realization. That’s right. The bugs Gonta noticed. Bugs that shouldn’t have anyway of getting in a sealed environment. . .  and his theory behind that was they weren't bugs, but spying devices.

“What does HPA mean?” Kaito questions, his eyes darting to the top left series of notes on the board.

“It’s short for Hope’s Peak Academy.” I explain. “It’s the school that began researching exceptionally talented kids and it’s where the concept of ‘Super School Level’ came from.”

“So, in theory, we shouldn't have these titles at all, right?” Ouma hums, placing his hands behind his head as his eyes glance over the note labeled as **‘new HPA???’** which was connected to the series about Maki mentioning a campus. I will admit I never explored that concept before, but if Monokuma’s actions were to be taken at face value, it would mean Maki’s claims had to be true, right?

However. . .

“Given what happened six years ago, no. The entire concept of Super School Level should have crashed and burned.” I sigh, placing my hands on my hips. “This can only mean between that time a **new academy** was built and you all became students there.”

“What exactly happened six years ago. . .?” Shuuichi ponders out loud. I sigh once again, trying to figure out how to explain what the hell actually happened without stating the state of the outside world at the moment. Which I hate to admit, with the new information from Maki. . . I may have outdated information and I can only make educated guesses from here.

“That’s a hell of a loaded question. It wasn’t specifically _one_ thing caused shit to hit the fan. It was a list of things, like fucking human experimentation for one.”

“I’m sorry _what_?” Amami questions. I walk over to my desk to grab the framed painting of Izuru that was leaning against it and present it to the four of my guests. The painting is still damaged -- his eyes torn from the frame -- but enough of his face was present so I could point out differences I knew.

“I didn't stutter.” I deadpan. “Hajime didn't look like this. He had a darker skin tone, some freckles as well, and brown hair but one day but one day he vanished from the school. Official records said he was expelled but months later, that turned out to be complete bullshit. The school used him for a fffffucking science experiment!” I toss the painting to the side in frustration, letting it hit the wall with a loud clattering sound. “And can you BELIEVE the science experiment it was!?”

“I don't know if I want to know. . .” Kaito mumbles, looking a bit sick.

“It’s so BULLSHIT!!!” I shout back. “Hope.” It’s also the biggest personal insult I’ve ever received. It’s just so asinine! “Just, hey, let’s fucking shove EVERY POSSIBLE CONVEYABLE TALENT INTO A KID AND MAKE SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL HOPE!!! BECAUSE HOPE IS JUST TALENT!!!! EAT MY ASS STEERING COMMITTEE!!!” It hits me a moment far too late I more or less just had a rage filled spat in the middle of this meeting. I turn away for a moment, gabbing at the edge of my desk to take a deep breath and calm down.

“That was one of many things that set off a really shitty chain of events,” I sigh, pressing my hands together and motion to the board again. “Now, I’m sure many of you are wondering, where did the school get the funds for something as insane as that? The answer is quite simple, the Reserve Course, which Hajime was apart of. This is a course where talentless students could enter the academy and reap the benefits from it. However, it was insanely expensive and they were treated as inferiors compared to the Talent Court students.”

“Would it be correct to say someone discovered this secret project, where the funds came from and outed this to the public?” Shuuichi questions. I sigh deeply.

“Yeah. . . this caused a bloody and violent revolt. . . the Reserve Course students slaughtered so many Talent Course students before killing themselves in a mass suicide. The only reason I wasn't caught up in that was because I happened to skip school that day.”

“Why the hell would anyone make a new school after _that_ happened . . .?” Kaito questions. I shake my head as I shrug my shoulders.

“I don't know. There’s six years worth of information I’m missing here to be honest. But, from what Maki has supplied, I can infer that the Future Foundation helped clean up the mess left behind by the Academy and they possibly started a new generation of the Academy.”

“That sounds right. . .” Shuuichi murmurs, biting the nail of his index finger as he looks over the web of notes and information. “And yet, despite clean up efforts, someone with ill intentions was seen around the campus.”

“And apparently kidnapped me and threw me into a Killing Game.” Amami grunts. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as they looked over the notes related to his supposed kidnapping and how that was most likely connected to who ever was looking for me.

“Shirogane went missing too, right?” Kaito questions, rubbing the back of his head. “And she was tossed into a Killing Game as well? I guess. . . it makes sense that she was probably killed because of that, right?” He sounded disgusted with himself to even say that.

“Obviously!” Ouma scoffs, playing with his scarf. “There wouldn’t be any reason to go after someone so plain unless they served a threat to the Mastermind.” Which is an unfortunate truth. Any survivor would pose a problem to the Mastermind behind this hell. Amami avoided dead because he was with me and because I told him to stay away from that shelf where Kaede’s trap waited.

“I can’t confirm or deny.” Amami sighs. “I can't remember the past game I was in, much less my talent -- although Kazehaya-san is certain its Adventurer.”

“That doesn't quite make sense.” Shuuichi sighs, crossing his arms while he was deeply in thought. “Why could she remember her talent or anything at all when compared to Amami-kun?” Which truthfully was a concerning thought. If she did participate in a prior Killing Game, why was she and Amami in another one? Was she deemed less of a threat compared to Amami -- an actual adventurer, thus someone far more prepared for a disaster situation like this -- and simply lost her memories of the previous game and the time when everyone went to the same school? But why would anyone end up in a Killing Game again? Did people vote to bring back their ‘favorite’ survivor for pure entertainment?

“Stiiiill~ Amami-chaaan as a returning contender? Isn’t it weird you never mentioned anything until now?” Ouma beams, leaning against Amami’s side. He’s not even offended by what the other is implying or the suspicious glint in his eyes. A heavy sigh showed that he resigned himself to this fate.

“To be frank I didn’t know at first as well either.” He explains. “When I finally got access to my dorm I found a second MonoPad waiting for me. Even stranger was a letter to myself but I don't even remember writing it out. It said the best way to expose the Mastermind was to catch them enter the secret room in the library when Monokuma needed as spare.”

“Ooooh, so that’s how you and Onee-chan knew about that secret room in the library!” Ouma beams. “You two sure are a secretive bunch! What other dark secrets are you two keeping, huh?! Tell me! Tell me!” My lips press into a flat line and I look at the floor, sweating just a bit. This isn't what I wanted. At least he sounded excited?

“Don't talk about them like that!” Kaito snaps back. Ouma narrows his eyes, questioning how intelligent Kaito actually was. . .which was kinda fair. To learn someone is a survivor of these Killing Games and they hid this, and other information, from people doesn't leave a great impression.

“Geez, I’m just saying it’s suspicious -- not that either of them _are_ .” Ouma sighs, rolling his eyes. “If it got around they committed perjury during the first trial, it would make others doubt them and that would be a problem for everyone. Like it or not, your girlfriend is the anchor of the group and the go to person when something happens.” He narrows his eyes, glancing over the notes I made about Kaito’s brother. He keeps doing that. Why the hell does he keep doing that? “Although, I _am_ genuinely curious to _why_ they decided to suddenly share this with us.”

“Maki didn't say much today, but it was enough for me to update my chart and it was about time I shared it with someone other than Amami. We decided you three were the most trustworthy to share this information with.” Kaito visibly side eyes Ouma. Not entirely surprising but, despite seeing him in moments of weakness, Kaito is still. . . concerned with Ouma and how he acted at times. A healthy dose of caution is okay.

“Saihara-kun is a detective so his skills would be useful in many aspects. Ouma-kun is rather brilliant as well, his clashing intellect could help Saihara-kun in many other was as well--” Amami’s explanation is swiftly cut off by Ouma’s devilish giggling.

“And Momota-chan has no use! I mean, unless you like his dumb motivational speeches! Or some eye candy while you work!” He had that stupid smut cat-like smiles on his face, clearly enjoying the way Kaito’s face twisted in anger. Sighing, Amami pulled Ouma to the side while Shuuichi acted as a human shield in an attempt to prevent fighting. It unfortunately failed as he pushed past his boyfriend but Amami quickly proved himself to be a much stronger and formidable wall.

Like complete assholes, their foreheads bashed together as they glare back at each other. His fists clenched and his jaw locks in fury. Amami returns the glare while keeping a firm ground, showing he didn't fear him in the slightest.

“I know Ouma-kun has a sharp tongue and says unnecessary things but now is not the time or place for this. It would be foolish to fall for his obvious attempts to antagonize you.” There is clear hesitation on Kaito’s face as Amami’s words sink in. He clearly wanted to give the Supreme Leader a piece of his mind but there was no use to do so at this moment.

“Alright. . .” He mutters uneasily. “But he doesn't need to be an ass about it. We’re trying to work together to solve this problem, right?” Ouma simply sticks his tongue out before hugging Amami’s arm, wailing about how Amami is his hero that saved him from a savage beast. Again, Kaito looks insulted to be referred to as a ‘savage beast’ but he clenches his fists and turns back to the board. “So, do we have any suspects?”

“Personally? I don't.” I sigh. “No one has said or done anything that would make me think they’re suspicious but, sometimes a suspect could be right under your nose the whole time. It takes one mistake or a few threads to connect them however, so, another opinion is always good in my books.”

 

* * *

 

The kotasu was placed in the center of the room again . . . and Ouma was certainly out to kill me. While I was jotting down names on a sheet of paper, he decided it was appropriate to slide into my lap. My hands froze for a moment, my face blushing a bright red. He grabbed the pen and continued from where  I left off.

I just. . . I just let it happen. . .

. . .

Needless to say, along with us, those who died were immediately removed from the list of suspects. This left behind a rather small list consisting of Ryouma, Maki, Angie, Ikiko, Gonta, Himiko, Kiibo and Miu as possible suspects. I immediately crossed both Gonta and Himiko off the list without a hint of hesitation.

“Her apathy is too real and what would be the point in training me if I could use what she taught me against her?  And Gonta is far too kind for that kind of role. Honestly, he’s more likely to be manipulated by the Mastermind rather than be the Mastermind themself.”

And so, Himiko was moved to the list of the unlikely suspects while Gonta was moved to a list of individuals that were deemed suspicious and/or needed someone to keep an eye on them. Additionally, Maki was also added to the list of unlikely suspects as it seems she’s completely loss all her memories of the Killing Game and more or less blindly stumbling about.

“Hoshi-chan has killed in the past.” Ouma casually points out, tapping a dark purple painted nail against the sheet of paper.

“True,” Shuuichi thoughtfully acknowledges, a finger curled on his chin. “but he clearly regrets it.” Which is something we’ve both observed while spending time with him. It doesn't feel like a lie coming from him.

“Unless it’s an act and what an act that would be!” Ouma beams, his eyes twinkling with a cruel light. “A young man regretting murder actually being the leader of a murder game!” . . . Unfortunately, that would be true. If someone kept that line of thought, they would easily overlook his possible involvement.

“Oh c’mon Saihara! You really going to believe this guy?” Kaito growls, giving Ouma a glare. Not far off, Amami sighs and crosses his arms.

“It’s a valid point, Momota-kun.” He gently informs him. “I recognize that you idolize or simply look up to him, but even in the limelight his past and personal life was shrouded in mystery. There’s nothing denying the possibility of him to have murderous tendencies.”

“. . .I hate to admit it,” Shuuichi sighs. “if I recall the report correctly, it was certainly suspicious how quickly he was able to get his hands on a custom made steel tennis ball. I don't know his training routine. . . but it’s certainly odd to think he would own it for practice.” Kaito had nothing to say about that because even he knew those facts of the case was suspicious. It was one of the many reasons Ryouma was arrested in the first place, other than _immediately_ admitting to the cops he committed the crime when they arrived on the scene.

“The mafia may be complete trash and killed his family and lover. . . ” Ouma began slowly, his voice tense and clearly frustrated. “But that doesn't excuse the entire slaughter of a group of people! Fifty-two lives lost that day because of him! Fifty-two families that lost someone important to them that day!”

“I don't think he would repeat that kind of thing,” I confess. “I trust him. And I’m pretty sure he knows that everyone knows about him, so he expects himself to be on thin ice. With such expectations, I doubt he would attempt anything. Perhaps it would be better have someone watching him.”

. . .Ouma reluctantly adds him to the list of people to keep an eye on. I guess, despite agreeing to meme on Miu for Ryouma’s sake, he’s not 100% trustworthy in his eyes.

. . .

Miu was added to the list of possible suspects, purely because of her mechanical and technological knowhow. She could, in theory, build the Monokumas, a machine to make more of them, the Exitals and even the machines that pull off the executions. . . what was deemed the final nail was Kiibo himself.

No one knows who the hell Professor Iidabashi is.

He’s said to be a great robotics expert but he’s never made a single public appearance and his entire history is shrouded in mystery. There’s no proof he’s _not_ a false identity Miu uses to publicize robotic and -- not so insane -- inventions she’s created. And despite only knowing him for two weeks, she’s got an incredible handle on repairing Kiibo’s body and doing simple maintenance. This could have been like muscle memory or something but I don’t know.

I did try to argue otherwise since she’s slept in my room so many times and with that came many opportunities to stab me. However, Kaito pointed out that if -- and very strongly stressing that if -- she did try to attack me that would have been a very poor plan on her part as it would be incredibly obvious since _everyone_ knew she frequently slept in my room.

Which was a rather valid point. . .

“Now, I doubt Kiibo is the Mastermind.” Kaito sighs.

“Just an easily exploitable tool.” Ouma sighs, slouching in my lap. A best passes and Kaito lifts up the sheet of the kotasu before shooting Ouma a dirty look but he simply grins in return. If I had to guess he was poking Kaito with his foot.

“No footsies at the table.” I deadpan. I am immediately kicked. I give Kaito A Look. Ouma loudly gasps, placing his hands on his cheeks.

“Momota-kun! How could you kick your beloved girlfriend?!”

“T-That’s not. . .! I was aiming for you!”

“You would hit poor defenseless child? How cruel! I knew you were no good. . .!” Ouma wails, breaking into a wave of tears. He shifts in my lap and proceeds to throws his arms around my shoulders in an awkward hug. I simply sigh, patting his head.

“Please, continue where you left off.” I sigh, continuing to pat Ouma on his head. Kaito looks thankful for the change in subject and he coughs before continuing where he left off.

“Right, thanks. . . When Harumaki became a robot, during that. . . talent swap thing. . . she mentioned something really odd.”

 

* * *

 

_“SHUT UP!” Harumaki suddenly shouts in the empty forest. Both Hekoten and Kaito flinch from how loud she projected her robotic voice and the fact it glitched just a bit. Both turn to her with shocked and flustered expressions._

_“Jesus, are you trying to give people a heart attack?” Kaito questions between a wheeze._

_“N-No one said anything Haru-chan. . .” Hekoten mutters, playing with her fingers anxiously. Harumaki takes a deep breath, exhaling through her nose._

_“. . .Sorry.” She mutters, puffing her cheeks out while she plays with one of her long synthetic ponytails. “There’s. . . just there voice in my head. . . It’s so annoying. . .”_

_“What. . .?”_

_“I don't know.” Maki sighs, dropping her arms to her sides. “Ever since I got this body, I’ve been hearing voices and they’re all telling me what to do.”_

 

* * *

 

“So if that happened to Harukawa-san, this is possibly happening to Kiibo-kun right now?” Amami presses.

“I think it’s entirely possible.” Kaito nods. “If she became a robot equipped with everything Kiibo has, it makes sense he would have this issue as well.”

“Then it would be for the best to keep him under supervision as well to make sure no one exploits this trait of his. May it be our audience or the Mastermind themself.” Shuuichi adds.

Next on the list was Angie.

I don’t. . . I don’t know about her.

She’s protested against my actions quite a bit to the point she broke into my lab to try and understand how my methods worked. ( Said method was to not treat people like shit and be genuine with them. ) Hell, she’s even said just accepting our fate would be much better for everyone. She hasn’t advocated for death but she seems insistant in causing friction and discord with our clashing perspectives. Also I’m still certain shes trying to create some religious turf war or something,

. . .Thankfully I wasn't the only one who felt weary about Angie. According to Shuuichi she’s mentioned looking for blood sacrifices a number of times and. . . The way she utilizes both her talent and religion was concerning to say the least. It was almost like brainwashing. Shuuichi explained he didn't think Angie was intentionally going out of her way to be malicious but her actions did not reflect well on her.

A rough theory assembled by Kaito was if she WAS the one behind the Killing Game, perhaps it was more of an attempt to get people to believe in her religion rather than simply ruin people’s lives. If everyone did as she dictated and followed her religion’s teachings, deaths could have been avoided.

Ouma added, even if that was her intentions -- if she is the Mastermind of this mess -- her actions still resulted in the pain, torture and death of people. So she was more or less bad news either way.

. . .All that remained was Ikiko.

“I don't trust her.” Ouma states, tapping his finger against her name. I don't entirely know how to feel about this. Not because I think she’s innocent but because someone else finds something off about her. She has done nothing suspicious but. . . it’s **the golden eyes**. I know I said I reacted wrong to them and wrongfully avoided her. . . but I can't stop thinking about this.

Wouldn't that mean it’s important?

“Why the hell would you suspect her?” Kaito questions. Ouma stares right back at him, giving him a look that was questioning his intelligence. It took me a several moments to realize that this wasn't in a mocking gesture. He was genuinely questioning Kaito’s sanity. He looks between everyone and to his frustration he notes everyone is confused by what he’s trying to reference.

He lets out a loud sigh, getting out of my lap to climb to his feet. When Kaito questions with irritation what he was doing and that he should explain his suspicions of Ikiko, he turns back to Kaito, a dark expression on his face.

“Your selective memory is showing again, Momota-chan.” His voice came out as a disgusted hiss. “Why would you have a fallout with your grandparents over your own brother of all people? I mean, your entire family abandoned him, right?” Kaito goes a few shades paler, his mouth hangs open but no sound comes out and he looks. . . frightened and incredibly uncomfortable.

“W-Wait. . .you know Aki?” Kaito’s voice trembles. He fumbles to his feet but he can't seem to move from the spot he’s rooted at. Perhaps afraid that if he makes a move Ouma will flee and he will be left with no answers. Regardless, Ouma huffs and plays with the edge of his scarf as if he’s entirely uninterested. . .  but the way he glared at Kaito said otherwise.

“He doesn't want to see you. So, it doesn't matter. . . but why? Why did he deserve to be abandoned and not you? What made you better than Akihiro?” When Kaito is unable to supply him with any answer, he simply ‘tsk’s and leaves my office paying no heed to the **d** **e** **spair** ridden look on his face as he falls to his knees in defeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also the games + activities amami set up for carnival time
> 
> Yo-yo Tsuri (yo-yo scooping)  
> Yo-yo tsuri is more like fishing rather than scooping a small balloon floating on water - you get a string made of paper with a hook attached to its end, and you basically just fish yo-yo! The paper that the string is made of isn't waterproof, so you have to be quick and efficient, and that's the fun part of this game.  
> Yo-yo usually contains water inside, so it's heavier and cannot be easily fished. You get to bring back the yo-yo that you got (the number of yo-yo you get to bring home depends).  
> https://www.japan-zone.com/store/water-yoyo-p-652.html
> 
> Senbonhiki (lottery)  
> Senbonbiki is like a lottery but in maybe a little more exciting form. Usually treats or prizes are attached to the end of long strings on the other side, often invisible to you, and you pull one of the strings and it will tell you whether you won or lost. It's totally dependent on one's luck, such an exciting game to play!
> 
> Costume Booth  
> Get a lot of costumes and props. Designate someone who will print pictures and put them in cellophane holders. Participants will pick what costumes they want and the theme of their photograph.
> 
> Cake Walk (Musical Chairs + Raffle)  
> Use Daiso vinyl tape and make footprints or circles on the floor into one big circle. Put numbers in each circle. Participants will stand on the circles, and when the music starts, they will walk to each circle. When the music stops, a number will be called. The participant on the called number will win a cake or a prize.  
> For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cakewalk_(carnival_game)


	41. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {10}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /dabs
> 
> im very delayed because preparing for holidays drain me so there will be a mini hiatus until holiday ends,  
> but ill post something for christmas for sure and probally get some updates out for the smaller stories [ Cursed Knight and Electric Bubblegum ( Pop! ) ]

**[\- Despair Searching -](https://youtu.be/yqv33YKku1c) **

“Hey, quick question, what the FUCK was that?” I shout as I follow after Ouma. He doesn't bother to respond, simply quickens his steps in an attempt to outrun me. It fails miserably as I effortlessly keep up with him but he continues to flee.

. . .into the backyard where the boiler is located?

The area was humid, steam hissing as it was funneled through large pipes and distributed throughout the campus. Strangely, Ouma was no longer running, but waiting for me by one of the walls. I remember this wall having vines and leaves covering it but they were all torn away to reveal some kanji carved into the bricks. 

> 二人は双子

‘ii’ wa ‘futago’

. . .That sounds a lot like something Gonta mentioned before.

 

* * *

 

_“Oh! Now that all friends are gathered, Gonta has something to say!” Gonta suddenly exclaims, raising his hand in the air like a child waiting for permission to speak._

_“What is it?” Amami questions with a smile._

_“Today, Gonta went on a walk to look for bugs but Gonta found some writing on a rock outside!”_

_“Graffiti on some rocks?” Angie hums, poking her bottom lip with a paintbrush from her arsenal . . . It was the first time she spoke this morning -- to anyone for that matter. I kinda wanted to ignore it, but I’m pretty sure she was sending glares my way the entire morning. . .  “Atua says it’s nothing to worry about!”_

_“We can't say that without knowing what it says. . .” Shuuichi sighs softly._

_“Well, what did it say?” Kaito demands of Gonta._

_“Ah, Gonta believes it said ‘The I Dial is Horse.’.” Seeing everyone’s baffled expressions Gonta scratches the back of his head with an awkward smile._

_“‘The I Dial is Horse.’.” Shuuichi repeats. “What does that even mean. . .?”_

 

* * *

 

So, wouldn't that mean this was spelling out ‘‘ii’ dial is ‘twins’’? But what the hell does _that_ mean? What do either of those phrases mean? While I pondered what exactly this could mean Ouma attempted to sneak out under my nose, however, I grabbed him by his arm and yanked him closer to me. He looked incredibly uncomfortable about this and attempts to pull away but it’s no good.

“I’m sorry for the manhandling but don't think I’m just going to let you fuck off after saying that shit to Kaito.” He meets my narrowed eyes with a glare of his own. “It was completely uncalled for.”

“It’s the truth.” He spits. “You know, the thing you all desperately seek? I guess it was a little too _salty_ for him.” There was a smug grin on his face as he made that quip. I resisted the urge to make a stupid fucking face of amusement at the shitty pun.

“You don't even know his perspective of things! His grandparents were retired and they didn't have money for the two of them--”

“Yeah and why was Kaito more valuable than Aki? Why did he deserve to be thrown aside? Abandoned and forgotten by people that were supposed to love and care for him?” Ouma cuts, irritation and heartbreak clear in his voice.

“It wasn't a matter of who was worth more!” I shout back, frustrated that he so quickly cut me off. I get it. From the perspective of him and Akihiro is probably looked that way but why was the judging the situation without all of the information?! “Kaito has retrograde amnesia!” And with those words, Ouma’s expression falters. His anger and rage fades to confusion for a few moments before fury ignites once more.

“Really? You’re going to use that kind of excuse?! Why wouldn’t anyone talk to him about Akihiro even if he had amnesia? Your lies are utterly pathetic!”

“It’s not an excuse or a lie if it genuinely happened! I mean, can you otherwise explain the large scar on his head? When he woke up in the hospital he couldn't even remember his own family and he had to take the doctor’s words at face value when they explained the people in his room were his own grandparents!” Again, Ouma’s expression faltered as I supplied him with more information about the incident. He simply looked confused and conflicted as he tried to connect the dots to fully grasp the entirety of the situation.

“His grandparents were retired so they didn't have any additional income. It must have been hard to take in Kaito when they did but they felt as if they had to because of his injury and the fact they only had one child -- Kaito’s father -- and the mother’s side of the family even disowned her for marrying the man she loved. So, they were literally the only family he had left. . .

They ended up getting jobs again so they could properly fit Akihiro into their budget but they never said anything to Kaito because they didn't want to stress him out or cause further injuries by bringing up a person he genuinely couldn't remember at the time and most likely, because they didn't. . . they didn't want to disappoint him if things didn't work out. . .” A soft sigh escapes me and I play with my pinky finger. Anger left in that moment and I felt . . . miserable because that situation could have ended in so many ways.

So many horrible way given how broken the entire orphanage system is.

Orphans and bastard children are considered horrible taboos in Japan. Things that can utterly destroy someone’s career if the word gets out. Many children placed in orphanages aren’t even officially released from their families because this would show up on the family papers and reflect poorly on the family if they got rid of a kid as family was such an important and integral part of society, so those kids stuck in orphanages couldn’t even be adopted if someone wanted to take them in.

Bullying and abuse among the kids -- by the kids nonetheless -- is rampant in orphanages, made worse by the fact that no one cares for the kids. People may work there but they don't give the kids the emotional love and comfort they need -- its like the adults are simply props -- and kids can be kicked out of an orphanage as young as fifteen.

On top of that, these children wouldn't have their family papers, causing them to be denied housing and work and open them up to a world of abuse simply because they are orphans. And it’s not uncommon they would end up with an incredibly poor education since they don't understand advanced reading or math, a number of mental illnesses or commit suicide to escape it all. . . and what always upsets me the most is that, despite these facts, nothing ever changes.

It makes perfect sense why Maki’s old personality was so frigid and cold -- thankfully, in reality it seems the matron was someone who did genuinely care for the kids -- and why Akihiro would choose to run away.

“. . .I didn't know his mother was disowned or that Momota-chan even had that serious of an injury.” Ouma mumbles. “All Akihiro ever mentioned was an accident but nothing more than that. . .”

“I doubt their parents told them that personally because they didn't want them to think poorly of themselves.” I softly mumble. “Kaito probably learned this after poking around for information. . . after he met you I bet.”

Because for Ouma’s reaction to make sense it would have to mean they met in the past, right? He specifically said **Kaito’s selective memory was showing again** in reference to his relationship with Akihiro. Which strictly contrasts with how Kaito couldn't remember who or why someone brought up his brother. And if that was the case, that would mean the theory that everyone has met before can be proven by someone other than Maki, further solidating it.

But. . . Why would Ouma remember this? There’s no Chaos Magic about him and after the abuse he’s faced from the Child of Lust, there’s no way he would ever team up with any of the remaining children to pull off this Killing Game. Is it possible his Holy Magic protected him from memory tampering all along. . .and that’s why, despite the chaos and meddling he caused, he always pursue the truth. Was this his own way to protect the ones he cared for?

But if he knew everyone. . . what was it about Ikiko that bothered him? Why didn't he outright say it when questioned?

Unfortunately, by the time my brain is able to assemble these questions Ouma has managed to slip past me this time around and an alarm on my phone went off, informing me that I had to return to the cafe. Christ. This was going to be a nightmare.

 

* * *

 

_Nevertheless, I’m starting to wonder. . ._

_Was Akihiro actually mad and did he actually say he never wanted to see Kaito again,_

_Or was that just Ouma speaking out on the behalf of one of his organization’s members in order to protect them?_

 

* * *

[**  
\- Moon on the Water -** ](https://youtu.be/yofsOSx6Y94)

As expected, Kaito wasn't handling things really well since the conversation with Ouma not long ago. Everyone could see through his act and the crooked smiles he delivered. Some people tried to ask what was wrong but he told them everything was fine every single time. And slowly, bit by bit, everyone pressing him for answers was pushing him to the edge.

He ended up snapping at someone. . . which happened to be Harumaki. If she had her personality from before, she probably would have kicked his ass, but instead she looked surprised, then disheartened which only served to upset him _more_.

“I. . . sorry Harumaki. . .” He mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. The cafe was empty at the moment so she pulled the seat beside her out from the table and gave it a pat, indicating he should sit down. He tries to shake his head but she persistently pats the seat with a pout on her face until he awkwardly settles down in the seat.

“So, what’s wrong Momota-kun?”

“Nothing.” He lies through his teeth. “I’m perfectly fine.” She gives him a clearly unimpressed look that proved she wasn't buying his bullshit for a moment.

“You’re such a hypocrite, you know?” She sighs, crossing her arms. Kaito blinks, a bit taken aback by her response. “You always say we can come to you when we need help or we’re upset but the second it’s you, you always put up this tough guy act and decide to bury your feelings. As if your own feelings are irrelevant or something. It’s like you want to suffer or you're just trying to punish yourself for something.” Kaito has no response which makes her pout once more.

“Maybe you think I don't know what I’m talking about, but I do know you Kaito.” He gives her a look of doubt for a moment, only to recall that she genuinely does. They all do. But they’ve been forced to forget everything. Harumaki plays with one of her ponytails, her cheek puffed out in irritation, which was less aimed at Kaito and more of the situation at hand. “. . .You always get this bad when it’s your family you're thinking of. . . like the time ojiisan called you ‘Kazuto’.”

Kazuto.

 _His_ father.

 _Their_ son.

His grandparents always said he looked just like his father. . . . Kaito can't remember what he, or his mother for that matter, looked like at all. His grandparents took down and hid every photo of him once the accident happened and he moved in to their house. All he has to rely on is their words. . . but it hurt. It hurt to have his grandparents look at him and call his father’s name instead. Sometimes he worries if they’re just trying to replace him and it makes it so much harder to smile for them. He doesn't want to be a shallow replacement for them -- he’s his own person! -- but it doesn't help how they never gave him closure either.

They never. . . They never let him visit the family grave. They haven't even told him where it is. Maybe they’re trying to protect him. Maybe they don't want him to face it. . . but. . .

A shaky breath leaves Kaito as he feels a hand touch his gloved one. Reconnecting to reality once more, he finds Harumaki looking at him with a concerned expression. He hastily looks away to find Shuuichi looking just as worried for him. His eyes helplessly look down at his lap.

“Kaito, you’re a person. . . a person with faults and feelings. You shouldn’t guilt yourself over things you have, and never had, control over.” She gently states.

 

* * *

 

_Why did he deserve to be abandoned and not you? What made you better than Akihiro?_

 

* * *

 

And yet, Ouma’s words haunt him. He knows it’s because of his head injury his grandparents prioritized him over Aki. . . but was that what Aki felt before he escaped the orphanage? Alone? Abandoned? Unloved? And part of him wants to play off what Ouma said as a cruel prank but the utter hatred and disgust in his eyes was far too real to deny.

One thing is certain and that's Ouma knows Aki. . . meaning Ouma has confronted him once about this in the past and things never got any better.

. . . wait.

_What?_

Kaito suddenly jumps up to his feet, an expression of confusion and shock on his face. He struggles to speak for a moment and all that comes out is a simple; I need to go. Both Shuuichi and Maki are left behind looking rather confused by his actions.

 

* * *

 

By this time, hours have passed but the cafe ended up closing early due to complications. That mostly being Kaito running off and no one being able to find him. He was probably looking for Ouma but, for whatever reason, he couldn't find him. It’s not like this is something that should have been complicated with how limited their places of travel is. But, then again, he’s a small person. He could be in the vents for all we know and after the scene he caused he probably would hang out in them. . .

Which leads me to where I am now. I’m standing in the library looking at the steel door behind the bookshelf once more. The dents my fist left in them are still there. I would have attempted to punch the door down again if it wasn't for the fact the noise would gather attention and Miu already knows the code. With a finger to my lip I let out a loud hum as I stared at the keypad. It’s numerical, so no letters, but that didn't stop me from making multiple attempts at guessing.

 

* * *

 

_1862_

_. . ._

**_ERROR._ **

 

_8621_

_. . ._

**_ERROR._ **

 

_2388246_

_. . ._

**_ERROR._ **

 

_3882462_

_. . ._

**_ERROR._ **

 

* * *

  
Fuck.

I guess _‘‘ii’ wa ‘futago’’_ and _‘i’ wa ‘uma’_ have no meaning to this door. It. . . It wasn't even worth an attempt in retrospect because the lock has a two-factor authentication so I would have needed the card even if I guessed the password. I let out a heavy sigh and drags my hand down my face. I look around the library once more, this time noticing the books from the top shelf -- the ones Kaede set up for her trap -- were stacked on a nearby table and the rolling ladder was close by. Not even moments later the sound of quiet bangs and shuffling can be heard. There’s only one place it could have come from.

. . .Jesus Christ he really is in the vents.

 I can only awkwardly stand around and wait for a mop of messy curly black-purple tipped hair pops out of the vent. Ouma looks confused at first to see me in the library, I awkwardly wave back which only makes him pout. Panta squeezes her way out of the vent and makes her way to the ladder. She stares at it, then the table near the bookshelf covered in books and then back at the ladder before deciding to walk a few steps down and then attempt to leap to the table.

Her calculations clearly failed and she instead plummets to the floor. Ouma screeches, making me think he’s never seen a goddamn cat land on their feet, but he lets out a sigh of relief the moment Panta twists through the air and lands perfectly safe on her paws.

However, that sigh of relief turns into an awkward sound as Panta approaches me to drop something at my feet. Curious about his reaction and why the cat would bother to deliver something to me, I kneel down to pick it up. It’s a flashdrive. One with a relatively simple design no less, a simple black device with a cover modeled after Monokuma’s head.

  * “ **Monokuma USB** ” ; A USB flash drive with the appearance of Monokuma. A USB drive of unknown purpose and origins, dropped by Panta, much to Ouma’s horror.



[**\- Nightmare in Locker -** ](https://youtu.be/DSN7cGb_nKE)

I am. . . extremely uncomfortable now. I honest to God trust Ouma but there’s far too much he’s being silent about. His memories, being suspicious of Ikiko, snuffling through vents and having a flash drive that looks like Monokuma . . . it’s really unsettling.

“What an ugly look on your face onee-chan!” Ouma beams as he makes his way down the ladder. He attempts to jump off the second to last step to grab the flash drive from me but I simply lift it out his range of reach but that does little to stop him. Instead he tries to make multiple jumps for it before I simply shove it in my bra. His face shows nothing but absolute disgust before he puts an amused, yet annoyed face. “Welp! I’m sure you're suspicious of me now! So, what’s your plan of action onee-chan? Out me to everyone else on suspicions of collaborating with the Mastermind? But that’s too mean for your standards, right?”

“My standards are a sliding scale.” I deadpan. He gives me a look and I sigh, rubbing my brow. “Look, nevermind, that's a rather intense can of worms to open right now. Truthfully, I still trust you Ouma-kun. I never would have invited you to that meeting if I didn't have full trust in you.” He makes an expression of utter disbelief that borderlines him about to break into a laugh because it sounded so strange to him. “but I have concerns about so many things and I honestly need some answers.”

“Truth and answers, huh?” Ouma hums, checking the nails on his left hand while cradling Panta in his right arm. “You’re rather certain you want to hear that stuff from me? Is it because you love me?” His tone turns sickly sweet and he clasps his hands together but his expression was anything but loving or welcoming. Just mocking, dark and twisted. “You only know the version of me inside your head, so, it’s not like you really know me anyway.”

okay.

first of all,

ow, fuck

Secondly, while that may be partially true, this is his attempt to deflect and I’m not having that.

“Whether or not I like you is irrelevant,” I quietly add _‘although we both know I do’_ before continuing. “But I don't want you to put yourself in danger. Not if I can help you.”

“Hmm. . . I wonder, do you see me as some helpless child? Something broken and needs your wisdom and help?” His expression is haunting and deadly, as if he’s daring me to make the wrong move in this scenario but I don't take the bait. I simply sigh.

“You know this argument doesn't exactly work after you’ve heard my origins and comforted me when I was crying, right?” Ouma flinches, his cheeks dusted a light pink. It seems in his attempts to push me away, that’s something he forgot in the moment. I sigh, bringing a thoughtful hand to my chin. “If I had to guess, you stole this flashdrive from somewhere. It’s the only reason that makes sense for you to purposely board off the library with a wall and lock the front door, forcing anyone that wanted to use the break room to come through the game room door so you could keep a list of who came in if they did something suspicious, right?”

“God. Why are you like this?” He mumbles, petting Panta on her head. “It’s so frustrating because this isn't how I planned for things to go! I was supposed to become someone untrustworthy in the eyes of the others, a reason for them to fight against that bear but then you come along and completely shook up the game.”

“That’s kinda my job?” I mumble scratching my cheek. “I mean, to like shake up the game?” Ouma curiously tilts his head.

“How exactly do you shake things up?”

“That's a complicated question.” I sigh, crossing my arms. “At the base of it all, my job is to bring hope to people in a time of need, so I may take an active role in stopping an enemy. Sometimes a person may be trapped in a cycle where their adventure happens again and again or an. . . assassination job.” Ouma’s expression sours in an instant. “Hey, hey, I don't actually kill anyone unless they request it or if the kill isnt sentient. It’s just called that on paper. I find _other_ methods to fix those problems. Like. . . uh, making my target a demon I can summon. . .?”

The complete lack of context makes me sound utterly insane and Ouma is clearly judging me. I. . . I can't blame him for that.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds.” I immediately follow up with. “His dad may have been the demon lord of  _Les Enfers des Sept Royaumes_ but Dante is an absolute sweetheart! Honestly, he lived his whole life thinking he was human until I came onto the scene." I anxiously add; "B-But, it’s not like I forced him into making his powers awaken! I think the close proximity of my magic woke something up. . . Which was unfortunate because the school doubles as a demon hunter academy so the only way I could assure his protection was to forge a contract with him.” Ouma pokes at his bottom lip and curiously tilts his head, humming rather loudly.

“And what is a ‘Contract’?”

“Well, it’s. . .” I trail off as I realize something. Goddamnit. I am so goddamn stupid. “Wait, you're using this all as a distraction!” Ouma pouts the moment his plan falls through. God. He’s not even hiding the fact he was tricking me the entire time!! “This isnt about me Ouma! I need answers about your actions! In the heat of the moment you said Kaito has a selective memory and--”

“He sure does.” He says completely bored, his face a blank and unreadable slate as he pets Panta’s backside.

“Again! You said he has a selective memory again! And then you brought up Aki! But you shouldn't have been able to do this unless you can remember everything about the outside world! How long have you been able to remember things and why haven't you mentioned it at all?

“And paint a target on my back? No thanks.” He scoffs. He then focuses on Panta for a little while, affectionately stroking the underside of her chin before he speaks up once more. “Always. I always remembered. I didn’t really understand why but there was no reason to bring it up. That would have made me suspicious from the get go and that was rather counterproductive to my plans. To be honest, I didn't really question why I could remember.” He plainly states, looking me right in the eye with a blank expression. “I thought, perhaps they were just trying to get to my personally, but I wouldn’t let them do that. . . but then, you appeared.”

“I appeared?” I repeat with a brow raised. His eyes suddenly look distant as he shifts his attention to Panta. The cat purrs, affectionately nuzzling against his body.

“You appeared, having all this knowledge and talking about demons and magic. All the things I wanted to deny and forget. . . and I thought, maybe the reason I can remember is because of **_him_**. For **_his_** benefit. . .”

Him. Tamekichi.

“Because of the **Child of Lust**. . .?” I repeat, confusion clear in my voice.

“He’s still out there in the world. . . He may be laying low but after everything he’s done to me while I was in captivity, he isn't simply going to give up. And if one of those **Children of Sin** are behind the game, what if making me remember everything while everyone I care for lack those memories, is it punishment for fleeing from him? But. . . is it also a way to prove to him, I am here. I am the person he’s looking for. And what if I survive this. . . they just hand me over to him?”

I furrow my brows. ‘What if I survive’. I don't like the sound of that. Did he honestly expect himself not to survive this from the very beginning? I really don't like the implication of that. . .

“That won’t happen.” I firmly reassure. A smug grin splits across his face, as if he expected that reply.

“Oh, onee-chan! You’re so kind like that! Always risking your life for others and expecting nothing in return!”

“It’s me job.” I dully reply. “But if everyone here are your classmates, why are you suspicious of Ikiko?” He raises a brow and the answer becomes so obvious.

**[\- Wonderful Story -](https://youtu.be/56JN4D_rgdk)  
**

“She. . . **She’s not apart of your class. . . is she?** ” Seeing my shocked face, Ouma’s smile stretches across his face. Panta climbs onto his shoulders, wrapping around his neck, allowing him to lift his arms to further emphasize his playful shout of ‘That’s right!’

“And you know what’s even stranger?” He smiles oh so innocently, holding his arms behind his back and rocks on his heels. “ **Shirogane-chan _never_ mentioned having a childhood friend before!** Isn't it strange that we arrive at this place, with no memories of our time as classmates and some unknown girl is here with us, attaching to one of us with that cliche childhood friend story?” He’s right. But maybe there is more to this thank we know. Maybe Shirogane did have a childhood friend and never bothered to mention it or it was easily overlooked. Even if she wasn't a classmate of their own, perhaps she was still a student at this Neo HPA campus.

Perhaps it’s too soon to judge but under these circumstances Ikiko is definitely, and tragically, suspicious.

“But that doesnt explain why you looked at them the way you did when Kaito asked why Ikiko was suspicious to you.” Ouma sticks out his tongue, his expression looking annoyed.

“I figured if they spent so much time with you they must have remembered something. . . but it seems for someone with so much Holy Magic, you’re kinda useless.”

“Well it’s not _magic_ altering memories.” At least I don't think so. After all, if the Flashback Lights can remove or replace memories, that’s not an act of magic but technology. There isnt much I can do in that case unless it’s magical technology but I've never handled a Flashback Light so I don’t know. Even then I’ve had very little interaction with Magical Tec beyond the computer we plan to code the Maximus System on.

. . . What was that?

“The. . .  Maximus System. . .?” I repeat numbly to myself. Ouma raises a brow, clearly confused about what I was speaking of but I didn’t notice. I couldn’t. Not when I realized what a complete dumbass I was this whole fucking time.

 

* * *

 

_“It’s a core component to the project you need to complete to save your friends._

**_We only have a limited amount of time before our Superiors find us_ **.”

_“Don't worry Mallari-san,_

**_I’ll find the core of the Maximus System._** ”

_“And remember, **we only have until The Reckoning begins.** _

_Once it starts and if you’re not out, I’ll be forced to pull the plug on the operation.”_

 

* * *

 

Oooooh my god.

How the literal fuck could I forget these things? These _incredibly important_ details of my own fucking job?! Fucking Christ. This is bad. . . I have to . . . I have to do something about this now. . . !

“Onee-chan, are you okay?” Ouma’s tone is soft but genuine. A genuine concern for me and despite this, I can't will myself to reply. There’s so much to say, or explain, but not a single word can escape me. It’s all trapped in inside and choking me. Choking me over my own helplessness and how incredibly blind and stupid I am about this horrid situation.

God. No wonder. . . No wonder I was told this love was a mistake. Because. . . the world is literally at its end. Everyone . . . All these friends, crushes and even partners I’ve made. . . none of it matters, because, once **The Reckoning** comes. . .

. . .  

. . .  

**They’ll all die.**

Die. Die. Die

Even struggling to survive in this killing game suddenly seemed so pointless. Was this Monokuma’s intention all along. He purposely avoided talking about **The Reckoning** , and he wanted the strongest to survive only to break them . . . but how could he. . . even know what it was. . .? Before my thoughts could spiral even further down the drain I bring my hands to my face and slap my cheeks as hard as I can. Because, even when things seemed so hopeless before. . .I never gave up. I always found the way to make a turnabout. So! I’ll just do it again, like I always do!

I spend no time explain what occurred to Ouma, hastily running away to strategically organize my thoughts and pull together a plan that could somehow save the lives of the people I’ve come to care for.


	42. {03} (Un)Ordinary Days {11}

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry about this hella delay
> 
> work unfortunately got in the way and shit happened
> 
> todays focus will be on ikiko although, so yeehaw!!
> 
> hawyee however, we explore some of oumas past so we got mentions and implication of abuse and torture

 

EDIT PLAYERS

SELECT PLAYER

        >>PLAYER 06

. . .

PLAYER 06     

>>HOSHI RYOUMA

. . .

PLAYER 06

>>HOSHI RYOUMA

        >>PHASE 02

        EDIT       >>DELETE        RETURN

. . .

PHASE 02 DELETED

 

* * *

 

**July 7th; Day 18  
**

* * *

  


_Time to Wake Up Kuma!_

A Despairing Day Awaits!  


**[\- Cool Morning -](https://youtu.be/hiNSu24BNGQ) **

With that loud exclamation, the Monokuma shaped clock bounces on the nightstand, creating more and more chaos and noise to wake the occupant in the bed. Eventually, a single pale hand slithers out from the sheets to weakly slap at the loud alarm clock. It takes a few attempts to hit the snooze button, which took the shape of the bear’s belly button.

And with the effort it took to slap the clock off, a figure rises from the bed, begrudgingly awake, to reveal that it was Ikiko Hekoten. She sits up in her bed for several long moments, not quite awake or willing to climb out of the bed just yet but she knows she has to.

She’s the one opening the first cafe today and running two shifts, like Kazehaya’s cafe did yesterday, meaning she has twice as much food to prepare. . .

Ikiko reluctantly climbs out of bed and drags her feet to her closet with blurry and squinted eyes. She grabs a clean outfit — her usual uniform that Monokuma prepared multiple copies of — and drags herself to her bathroom to clean up for the day. On an after thought she exits the room and collects her glasses so she could see herself in the mirror once she cleaned up so she could properly do her hair.

. . .

Ikiko wipes away the condensation from the mirror once she’s fully dressed. She begins the laborious process of fixing her hair by tying it back in a pair high side ponytails. Ikiko then lifts the comb from the counter and begins to carefully run it through her wavy hair. She runs into a few knots on the way, causing her to winces a bit, but she pushes forward. Her sister always told her if it went ignored it would only progressively get worse and that would make the experience all more terrible.

Sighing, she continues her efforts until she could easily run her fingers through both pony tails without a problem and then moves onto her bangs, which put up no fight up at all. Setting the comb down, she grabs the warm curling iron from the counter and wraps a ponytail around it. Once she takes care of both sides, she reaches into a small box on the counter to pull out two pink ribbons. She ties each at the base of her ponytails and then clips her hair pin into place.

She looks into the mirror and smiles. She’s almost ready to begin the day! With a smile on her face, Ikiko returns to her room and collects just a few more items from her nightstand. Her notebook and fountain pen, and most importantly, her brooch that would be pinned to the center of her uniform ribbon. Ikiko smiles fondly, gently stroking her fingertips over the round double sided cut blue aquamarine that was fitted in a round platinum piece and that fond expression refuses to fade as her fingers continue over the long hanging tear shaped opal.

“It’s going to be a great day Onee-chan.” She beams, clipping the brooch into place on her uniform. She then spares a glance back at the clock on the nightstand. In her attempts to turn it off she knocked it over onto its side. Although it had a likeness to that bear, she simply couldn’t leave it like that. Not when it was a final gift from Tsumugi.

 

* * *

 

_“Iki-chan, look what I got from that weird gacha!” Tsumugi laughs, her pretty face lighting up as she lifts the object up into the air. Ikiko blinks, not quite sure why her friend seems so happy over that of all things. Especially if it looks like that stupid bear that took them all captive._

_“. . .A clock?” She offers, still utterly confused by Tsumugi’s joy. Her smile grows wider._

_“Not any clock! An alarm clock!” Oh. That’s what she’s getting at. “We both know you’re hopeless when it comes to waking up but you like to get up early to practice! And . . . when your sister passed it only got worse. . .” Tsumugi mumbles the last bit quietly. Her expression twists into worry, wondering if she’s overstepping bounds or not, but Ikiko smiles and accepts the gift from her friend._

“Thank you Shiro-chan, I’ll take good care of it.” Tsumugi beams, her eyes sparkling as she clasps her hands together.  


* * *

 

Ikiko sighs before she sets the alarm clock upright and takes her leave from her room. As ugly as the clock is, it’s a momento from her passed on friend so she does her best to take care of it. She quietly leaves the dorm room building and begins the walk to the campus.

On the way she passes Kazehaya’s lab and she recalls with disappointment that the preacher always locks her lab when she done with it for the day. She would have to leave a prayer for Tsumugi and the other fallen victims later into the day then.

**[\- Bon Appétit! -](https://youtu.be/ITf75qXEoZM) **

Once she makes it to the cafeteria she finds Monodam standing there, waiting for her. He politely raises his hand and greets her, his tone was hushed in an attempt to be polite despite the fact no one was sleeping in the school building. Nevertheless, she thanks him for opening up the cafeteria for her and rushes to the kitchen to get to work.

She immediately approaches the freezer to check in the mochi ice creams she prepared last night. They’re all accounted for and are ready to go for when it’s time to move the food to the cafe.

Closing the freezer she gathers the necessary ingredients and tools to begin the buttercream pudding as it would take the longest to prepare. Especially since she would have to triple the recipe. Four servings simply wouldn't be enough.

She places the large skillet on the oven top and ties a kitchen cloth around the lid to prevent condensation from dripping onto the pudding as it cooked. While the water in the skillet boiled she cracked nine large eggs into a large bowl then added nine tablespoons of sugar before grabbing the whisk and getting to work. As she does, the door of the kitchen eases open but she doesn't look away from her work for a second as she knows the sugar and eggs need to be whisked together rather well.

“Goku-kun, Hoshi-kun, is that you?” She questions as she adds the cup of softened butter. If it wasn't either of them, her next guess would have been Kazehaya-chan, since she seems like the type to diligently work early enough to prepare her cafe.

“. . .Um, no, it’s uh, me. . .” Ikiko stops in surprise. Although the voice was a atad shy and spoke with some hesitation, she could tell that was Haru-chan. She turns to the door with a look of confusion clear on her face and as she thought Haru-chan stood a the doorway, awkwardly tugging at one of her long ponytails. “Can I help. . .? It’s not much but I want to do something to apologize for how I acted yesterday.” Ikiko blinks, not expecting that kind of offer from the other girl. However, that was simply because she wasn't used to this personality -- the _true_ personality -- of Haru-chan.

“Sure thing.” Ikiko smiles. She has no reason to deny her when she was so genuine -- the smile on her face and sigh of relief proves just that -- so she gives Haru-chan the instructions to prepare the caramel. She nods her head and  gets to work pouring nine teaspoon of water and 4 ½ tablespoons into a pot on the stove top. So while Haru-chan watches the pot, making sure the sugar caramelized evenly.

Humming to herself, Ikiko adds the 3 cups of milk and 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla, whisking together the mixture she was preparing. She then places a fine sieve on top of a bowl of equal size, removing any unnecessary egg while that refused to breakdown into a nice fine liquid. Smiling to herself, Ikiko evenly distributes the liquid into a three tray of cat shaped silicone molds.

Placing the bowl, along with other dirty supplies, in the sink for the moment she returns her attention to the skillet. She turns the heat down to the lowest setting before lowering the tray into the water and covered thethe skillet with the covered lid.

While the pudding steams Ikiko gets to work cleaning up the mess she made, since she would need most of the cooking tools for the next dish she needed to prepare. As she works, she glanced over to Haru-chan to see her progress on the caramel. From what she could see the progress is going well but Haru-chan was flipping through the other recipes pinned to the cork board, most likely to stay ahead to prepare more plates.

“Youre going to bake the donuts?” Haru-chan wonders out loud. She looks positively baffled by this concept. Ikiko smiles, nodding her head.

“Yep! Baking them makes them come out fluffier! Like a cake! Then use some sugar glue to add little cat ears and use some piping bags to add some cat features to the donuts! Hoshi-kun said it would be a good idea to decorate the donuts after the cats in the cafe!”

“Oh, that sounds adorable!” Haru-chan beams. Ikiko smiles in return. In truth, it’s odd to be greeted with this personality from Haru-chan. Even if this was her real self. . . It brought up a lot of questions if she was to be honest. Why would she even get a fake personality in the first place? That really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. . . And if her personality was fake. . . who’s to say anyone else’s is fake as well?

 

* * *

 

**[\- Cat Cafe -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LEmer7wwHI) **

According to the schedule prepared by Kazehaya-chan, today the cat cafe would have **Shift A** \-- 10AM to 1PM -- and **Shift C** \-- 4PM to 7PM -- with Kazehaya-chan’s cafe running  **Shift B** \-- 1PM to 4PM. Additionally, Bashi-kun would run the snack stand on **Shift X** \-- 11AM to 1PM -- and **Shift Z** \-- 4PM to 6PM -- while Haru-chan would run **Shift Y** \-- 1PM to 2PM and 3PM to 4PM.

So when nine o’clock approached, Goku-kun arrived in the crowded kitchen provide any assistance possible. Kazehaya-chan greets him with a smile on her face before returning to her work on adding the final touches to the strawberry shortcake. With the job complete, she smiles with pride and slides the cake into an insulated carrier, which was lined with ice packs at the bottom to keep the deserts chilled until they were to be served.

Using two hand towels Ikiko grabs the hotpot of the oven top and quickly transfers the donabe to a tray waiting inside the heat insulated box prepared for the cafe. With a smile on his face, Goku-kun took the two insulated boxes by the handle and happily carried the boxes up the stairs while she followed from behind with the dolly.

Inside the Goku-kun’s lab, Hoshi-kun’s nine robotic cats were happily padding around on the grassy floor, some curled up on the tree stump like tables or rubbing against Ryouma for attention. Despite how miserable he looked in the maid costume Kazehaya-chan prepared for him, the cats always brought a smile to his face.

However, in her opinion, the uniform Kazehaya-chan prepared was absolutely adorable.

The main body of the uniform was composed of a black dress with a white collar, under the collar was a white cat shaped charm centered on the bow formed by a dark blue ribbon. The bottom of the dress was fitted cupcake skirt  trimmed with dark blue and that puffed outwards with layers of white lace. Tightly around his waist was a rather large dark blue bow.

A black headband trimmed with white lace and a dark blue ribbon rested on top of his shot auburn hair. She had no idea of the style was intentional or not but Hoshi-kun had two tufts of hair that pointed upwards like cat ears. Finishing up the outfit were smaller details like a silly but adorable looking cat apron, dark blue ribbons around his wrists, and a pair of black knee length socks and dark blue mary janes.

It was _paws_ itively cute!

. . .She has no idea if he would hate the pun or not.

Nevertheless, she and Gonta head to the corner of the area, where decorative vine dividers were erected to create a small workplace to prep food, and properly stored the insulated boxes until the first of the customers arrived. With that taken care of, she approaches the gray British Shorthair with a red collar and strokes the underside of her chin. She purrs, eagerly climbing into Ikiko’s lap once she settles down on a tree stump like chair.

“You really like Hanie, huh?” Ryouma chuckles. Despite the clear exhaustion already on his face, he’s more than happy to see his cats happy.

“Ah, yes. . .” Ikiko smiles. “I really adore her. . . She’s such a pretty cat. . .”

One way or another, this cat had taken a liking to her. . . and perhaps it was because her name spoke to her. Hanie -- the ashen shrine. A cat born from the ashes and from the ashes comes a new life. The very same could describe her recovery process from her sister’s passing. For a long time she felt as if her entire existence was burning, smoldering until there was nothing behind. And yet, life continues to persist from the crisp ashes. . .  


* * *

 

As the previous shift informed them, running a cafe is a bit of a complicated ordeal for the three of them. Kazehaya-chan’s magic certainly has advantages in manning the kitchen. The food never tastes as fresh or is as warm as her cooking and magic. The fact she apparently has a large family most likely helped her grow skills to what it is today.

Ikiko herself did not have much experience in that field. Her meals were prepared by her parents while they were alive, and the same is applied to her sister. Despite working for the two of them, her sister always prepared a meal for her but when she was on her own it was usually take out, something cheap from the nearby gas station market or whatever she could scrounge up in the kitchen.

Now, Goku-kun was a pretty good employee. He looked handsome with his hair pulled back in a ponytail while wearing wearing a brown vest and matching dress pant with a white collar button down shirt and green ribbon. He always smiled and greeted any customer with joy and kindness. However, whenever Ikiko gave him a dish to deliver to a customer, she may use cardinal directions to direct him and Goku-kun . . . ended up wandering around his own Talent Lab in confusion until Hoshi-kun pointed directly at that person.

It seems he had some issues differentiating his directions. . . They would have to do something about that. Perhaps getting some cards to label the tables by number would help him.

Ah. And then there was Hoshi-kun. . . .

“C’mon Ho _shit_ , write something for the perfect golden genius that made the cats for your shitty cafe!!" Iru-chan cackles, spit flying everywhere with her laughter. In response Hoshi-kun looks her dead in her eyes and begins to write with the ketchup bottle.

. . .

He wrote ‘PERISH’ in perfect English, just to strongly convey how disgusted he is with her antics. Realizing this, Iru-chan immediately shrivels up and whimpers a soft 'oh'.

There were some _slight_ problems. . . Generally he was pretty miserable to be in this state, however, he become even more irritable when Miu was around. It seems despite her creation of the robotic cats, he still hasn’t forgiven her for her remarks about ‘breeding’ in a sexual way.

Ikiko makes swift strides across the cafe to reach Iru-chan’s table, holding a plate with a fresh omurice with the kanji for ‘Best Girl’ writen on and she takes away the one with Hoshi-kun’s message. Iru-chan burts out cackling about how this is a much better message for someone like her. Hoshi-kun’s face sours and he stalks off for the time being.

Ikiko returns to the little kitchen hub and decides to eat the omurice herself. She did skip out on breakfast this morning.

 

* * *

 

“As you requested,” Himiko yawns, presenting a crimson red envelope that was sealed shut with sapphire blue wax, molded into the shape of her Seal. “ **One Letter of Request.** ” A shaky sigh of relief escapes me as I take said envelope from her hands to stow it away in my purse.

  * “ **Letter of Request** ”; A letter penned by Himiko Yumeno as per request of Yuuki Kazehaya. Sealed tightly in a crimson envelope and sapphire blue wax, its contents are currently unknown.



“Is this thing really necessary. . .?” She asks. I can't help but sigh, placing a hand on my cheek and taking a cautious glance around. Nothing that both Shuuichi and Kaito were occupied for the moment, I lead her to the back of the cafe.

“It is. . .” I admit softly. “Between the two of us. . . **you’re the key to our survival now.** ” Himiko blinks, taken by completely surprise by this reveal. She sweats a bit, looking quite anxious to know something so important rested on her shoulders now.

“But why me. . .?” She mumbles something about how that is such a pain.

“It’s a coincidence. A lucky one at that.” I admit. “It’s because you’re the reincarnation of  a Blooming Hart mage we have this change to strike back and take our future.”

“Take our future, huh. . .” There’s so much more I want to say about all of this, but, right now, I can't. I may have some detail, but it’s not enough and telling her may put too much pressure or anxiety on her and that’s the last thing I want for her, or any one at all. Truthfully, I don't know how to even explain the meaning of ‘The Reckoning’ without causing either a mass hysteria or having everyone to give up of pure fear or despair.

Sighing to myself, I pull out my phone and check the connection. Biting my lip, I furrow my brows in annoyance. There’s no connection to Mel or Sho while I’m stuck here. There as to be some location on campus where I can find a good enough signal to sent this letter. . .

And until it’s delivered. . . **I have to keep silent.**

“Hey. . . is everything going to be okay?” Himiko questions, sadness and fear evident in her voice. Taking a breath, I pocket my phone once more and place my hands on my hips with a smile on my face.

“It will be. I’ll make sure everything works out until my last breath!”

 

* * *

 

**[\- The Haunted Mansion -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VshYKZZxZEs) **

“Do we have to do this. . .?” Kaito asks slowly. He’s trying so hard not to keep his cool, but it’s very clearly failing as his ankles tremble, the shaking getting worse with each moment we spend standing in the foyer of the haunted house floor.

“Aw c’cmon, everyone put in a big effort to make this, the least we could do is explore it a few times.” I pout

“There’s even a prize if you collect all the stamps.” Shuuichi points out, motioning to a small table with a box on top of it that contained a white sheet of paper. Said white sheets of paper all had a red grid containing a 5x2 row of boxes.

“A prize, huh. . .?” Kaito mumbles. After a few moments of thought, he turns to me with a smile on his face. “Hey, Kiriri! If you’re scared, I’ll hold your hand!” My face twitches just a bit and I want to explode with laughter. Just a little bit.

“Ghosts don't scare me Kai-chii.” I snort. Which was true. Ghosts don't exactly scare me after numerous encounters with them while on the job. The only thing about them that may bother me is the curses they may be affecting them or how deformed they may look post-death -- which wasnt exactly fair on my behalf. That always gives me a good scare until I become adjusted to the sight.

“Kiriri, please. . .” He begs. I instead take Shuuichi’s hands into my own. He adorably squeeks just a bit out of surprise and heat rushes to his cheeks. Again, my boyfriend is so fcking cute.

“I’m sorry, my hands are full of Shuuichi’s. . .” I dreamily reply. Shuuichi sheepishly blushes, weakly apologizing as he looks to our joined hands. Kaito looked torn between complaining, panicing or leaving altogether when someone suddenly decides to drape themselves over his shoulder.

That someone being Ouma.

Kaito lets out a shrill shriek, nearly flinging Ouma off his back, which quickly becomes a sound in the distance as I lead Shuuichi deeper into the Haunted House by his hand. The detective questions if this necessary in order to mend things between the two of them, to which I shrug. I think it will work out. . .

 

* * *

 

**[\- Beetlejuice -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZktSPrGSck) **

“Geez. . . Yuuki-chan ran off without us. . .” Ouma pouts. Once he jumps off Kaito’s back he props his arms behind his head.

“Is that all you have to say?!” Kaito belts out a little louder than intended. Ouma gives him a rather impassive expression in return, which makes Kaito sigh deeply. “What’s with you. . .?” He questions, scratching his head. No answer is supplied and instead, Ouma tackles Kaito and wraps his arms around the taller’s waist.

“I’m soooo scared! Save me Momota-kun!” Kaito immediately freezes up, not expecting the other to act like this in the slightest. Kaito awkwardly places his hands on Ouma’s backside, rattling is brain to figure out how to approach the subject that plagues his mind. However, that train of thought comes to a complete and sudden halt as he feels something move down his backside ever so slowly. He bites back a tiny terrified whimper and jerks Ouma back so he’s at arm length.

“OKAY OUMA, HOW ABOUT WE HOLD HANDS? NOT BUTTS.” It comes out louder than he wanted once more and it doesn't help that he can feel the heat rushing to his face. Despite all of this, Ouma innocently tilts his head.

“But I’m not touching you Momota-chan.” Kaito furrows his brows in irritation the longer he stares at that oh so innocent look on Ouma’s face. Christ. This kid. He can be so infuriating sometimes! No. He needs to stay focused. Kiriri arranged this so they could talk things out. He can’t let this chance go to waste!

He places his hands on Ouma’s shoulder and opens his mouth to speak only for a whine of terror escape him as a hand slowly strokes his backside once more. Ouma gasps, his eyes going wide, almost looking. . . concerned for him?

“Momota-chan, what’s wrong?”

No. He can’t fall for this trap! He _will not_ fall for this trap.

“You know exactly what’s wrong!” Kaito urges. Ouma lifts up his hand, showing them to be empty and . . . not . . . touching him. B-But. . . I-If Ouma’s hands are here. . . t-then. . . then what’s touching him, _right now_?

“Gosh Momota-chan, I donno what’s touching you. . .” Ouma pouts, looking just mildly annoyed that he was accused of anything in the first place. Having no idea about what could possibly be touching him, Kaito lets out a loud shreik and takes off running as fast as he can move his legs. Once Kaito is gone, Ouma brings a hand to his mouth and lets out a simple ‘Nishishi’. Who knew using that silly tentacle arm Saihara-chan gave him would be so fun!

With a spring in his step, Ouma skips off and into the haunted house with a beaming smile on his face and his arms folded behind his head.

 

* * *

 

Deeper into the haunted house the duo were hard at work uncovering the secrets and hidden goods. They discovered an array of rooms and they stumbled into a room that looked very much like a crime scene in a classroom. A chalk outline of bodies on the floor, nails and deep gashes in the floorboards and chalkboard which was covered in dried blood, many objects coated layer of dust and spiderwebs. It was an uncomfortable place to be in as it had a striking similarity to the crime scene where they found Akamatsu’s body.

Together, they duo found one of the many stamps scattered about, however it was a little high up on a stack of dirty desks so the priestess leans down, and proceeds to scoop the detective onto her shoulders. He lets out a squeal of surprise as he’s lifted into the air, fumbling to balance himself on his partner’s shoulder for a few moments before grabbing the ink pad and stamp.

Balancing the detective on her shoulders, she reaches into her purse and pulls out the stamp card. He collects the card, pressing the stamp against the red ink pad and then presses it against the one of the blank squares in the card.  Once he informs the other that he’s stamped the card, the priestess shifts her shoulders, propelling the detective off her and she easily catches him as he yelps in surprise.

She smiles in return, holding her partner in her arms like she’s cradling the greatest prize she’s ever obtained and this is the moment the astronaut bursts into the room, his fear of ghosts evident on his face. He shakily sighs, his body trembling as he hastily shuts the door behind him and stumbles over to his partners, holding them both in his arms. The priestess squints her eyes.

“Kaito, where is Ouma-kun?” She questions. The young man in question flinches, looking back to the door and then his two partners, who both look rather unimpressed with his actions. Slowly, the astronaut releases them, backs up and slides out of the room. Clearly, a reluctant action, but one they all knew he needed to make.

 

* * *

 

**[\- This House Haunts Me -](https://youtu.be/83uhA7eyKu4) **

Kokichi Ouma was no coward.

He’s seen and heard all sorts of hellish things during his abuse and captivity under his so called brother’s thumb, but, that didn't mean this haunted house wasn't well crafted enough to bother him. There was an impossible amount of rooms, more than what should have existed on the floor  -- which was most likely the effect of an illusion spell Yumeno crafted -- and the longer he aimlessly wondered the more the place warped and began to shape into an uncomfortable reminder of his past.

He needs to give her a piece of his mind as soon as he gets out of this shit hole. Ouma stumbles down the hall and grabs the handle of the door he approached and gave it a turn. The door opens with a loud groan and the sound of the metal scraping against the floor sends a shiver down his spine but soon enough, its his entire body that’s shivering.

This room. . .

It’s way too close. . . too close to _that_ place . . .

The hellish torture chamber his brother would submit him to. There was never an ounce of hesitation when he strap him down to any of the hellish torture devices he obtained. Not an ounce of remorse in his eyes as forced to undergo water torture or beat him with any and every tool he could get his grimy hands on, even slice open his flesh and let him bleed it out until sparks of his magic would appear. . . but it was never enough for him. His hands would wrap around is neck in a violent vice, crushing his windpipe and leaving behind prints all while he demanded he show his power.

He can. . . He can feel his fingers closing around his throat again and a whimper escapes him. Kokichi’s fingers desperately scratch at his throat to pull _him_ away but he can't make his attacker cease his cruelty. His nails dig and tear the flesh of his neck. He’s drowning. Drowning in his own blood and another terrified whimper escapes Kokichi.

He reasons with himself that his brother isn’t here but he can feel those nails crushing his throat, choking him, and hissing terrible things. Promises to kill those close to him. To break that foolish priestess that made him hope again before his very eyes until she is nothing but a bloody mass on the floor. To destroy the ones he loves until they’re hardly recognizable and _begging_ for him to satisfy them like the _disgusting whores_ they are.

“H-Hey! Ouma!” A sob breaks free from Kokichi’s lips as Momota-chan’s voice calls out to him. It’s all an illusion because there’s no reason he would return for him. Not after teasing him. And not after what he said about Aki. It’s not real.

And yet, he feels the flutter of a familiar warm cloth that’s brought him comfort so many times before and a tender hug that treats him with caution but also security. Like Momota-chan always did before they were thrown into the Killing Game and everyone around him was stripped of their memories and he was forced to exist outside their world. A whimper escapes Kokichi once more and, on pure instinct, he curls in on himself against the warm body.

Carefully, those familiar arms cradle him close to their chest and lift him out of the room -- away from horrible memories of the past. Kokichi says nothing . . . and Momota-chan say nothing either. No attempts to mock or insult him, just a simple silence as he brings a hand to his hair. His first instinct upon seeing the hand coming in close was to flinch and hide away, leading Momota-chan to carefully lower his hand.

“Geez, you look cute cuddling up like this. . . but. . .that face isnt good for you. . .” Momota-chan mumbles. Kokichi blinks at the rather unexpected words that come from the other. It makes his face heat up but he still questions if they're even real.

“W-What was that M-Momota-chan?” Kokichi visibly winces at the way his voice comes out as a timid tremble. He needs to get his act together. None of that was real. Tamekichi isnt here. The train of thought comes to a sudden stop as Momota-chan shoves his face into his chest and rather simply informs him that it was nothing.

“Just. . . Just hug it out, alright? I’m here for you now?” His heart really shouldn't throb with joy over such a simple statement but it would be a lie if he said he didn't miss this kindness from Momota-chan. He’s still as useless as he was before, but, this was still the greatest comfort he could ask for. “Geez, you’re way shorter than I thought you were. . .” Momota-chan mumbles, his cheeks flushed red. A pout makes its way across Kokichi’s face. Well, maybe his chest shouldn't be comfortable then! Who’s fault is that? Not his!

“That’s not what a hero says when he saves the day!” He complain. The look of surprise on Momota-chan’s face is absolutely perfect and the following smile that spreads across his face as he laughs makes his heart explode with happiness. Ah. Momota-chan always did have a pretty laugh. . .

“Since when did you think I’m a hero?” There’s a timid awkward silence and Kokichi presses his face against Momota-chan’s chest with a little more firmness. Isn't it obvious? He supposes he has to say it out loud for him.

“. . .You came and saved me, didn't you?” The words clearly filled Momota-chan with a sense of pride, but also sadness. After all, Kokichi’s admittance was so soft and timid. It was so soft he almost missed it, like Kokichi was afraid to admit his moment of weakness. Momota-chan brings a careful hand back to Kokichi’s hair, slowly threading his fingers through and the smaller male hums softly, melting a little too eagerly into the other’s touch.

“I guess when you put it that way, sure! I am your hero!” A beat passes before Momota-chan mumbles that he has nothing heroic to say. Kokichi snorts but more in a playful way than mocking as someone would expect of him.

“Then, why don't you sweep me off my feet Momota-chan!” It’s merely a jest. After all, why would Momota-chan actually do that for him? Even if they were close to him before, that same connection doesn't exist anymore, but it turns out that Momota-chan is full of surprises.

With that stupid wide grin on his face, he hooks an arm under Kokichi’s knees, supports his backside with his other hand and confidently lifts the smaller male into the air. Kokichi lets out a surprised squeak, his fingers grabbing onto Kaito’s white button down shirt.

Unbeknownst to him, the other found it rather endearing.

“Hey, Ouma, am I. . .” Momota-chan tentatively begins. Kokichi hums softly, giving him the sign that he’s listening. “Does Aki really hate me?” Part of Kokichi wanted to roll his eyes and remind Momota-chan that Akihiro was _his_ brother so he should know the answer to that, but they havent seen eachother in ten years at best. At least according to his altered memories.

 

* * *

 

In reality, they had a chance reunion at the grave of their parents. Momota-chan visiting his parents’ grave with Saihara-chan and Harukawa-chan and surprise surprise! He,, Akihiro and the rest of DICE was present to leave offerings to the Momotas.

At that time, it took Kokichi a lot of time and resources to figure out where this grave was even located. That entire search didn't leave a good impression on him but with the information Kazehaya-chan has shared with him, perhaps this was an attempt to keep the grave safe from the mother’s side of the family. For all he knows they may have been petty enough people to go out of their way and deface the grave.

It sounds like something they would do if they would abandon their child for marrying someone she loved so dearly.

Regardless, Kokichi was ready to shout and scream at Momota-chan, to tell him to leave this sacred place as he did not deserve to be here but the way he and Aki stared at each other, with such shock and surprise, he couldn't say much of anything. The bouquet of flowers fell from Aki’s hands when he flung himself forward, and into his brother’s arms, sobbing.

Momota-chan was clearly surprised by this and he was just as unsure of how to respond. Thankfully, he locates his brain and finally returns his brother’s hug as he too is overcome with tears. Again and again, Akihiro chanted his brother’s name as he clung to him, exclaiming he’s so happy that his brother is alive and doing well and that’s he’s been watching his journey to achieve his dream for so long.

. . .

At the end of the day, it became clear that Akihiro didn't hold anything against Kaito. Despite the separation he wanted the best for his brother, to the point he objectively stole some bleach for his hair to make sure if he was ever captured, he couldn't be mistaken as Kaito and accidentally destroy his career.

 

* * *

 

**[\- Clair de Lune -](https://youtu.be/KBKYw1P2LxU) **

To this day, Kokichi couldn’t help but be completely baffled by such a selfless action. A warm and loving bond between siblings simply seemed so unnatural to him after everything his so called brother did to him. . . Even so, Aki was one of his underlings and so it was his job as his leader to protect him.

But being angry at Momota-chan, even after Aki expressed he didn't hold anything against him, felt as if it was the right thing to do. Or was his own harshness his own attempt to bury his feelings for Momota-chan? Even now, Kokichi isn’t entirely sure but, being cradled in Momota-chan’s arms, he certainly felt safe and, perhaps, loved.

“No.” He mumbles, pressing himself a little more firmly against the other’s chest. “Aki doesn't hate you. But, all this time I could remember everything and I couldn’t help but be mad. I thought by being around Kazehaya-chan you would be able to remember everything. . . and I thought you were feigning ignorance and I didn’t _know_ you had a memory issue.” Carefully, Kokichi lifts his hand up in order to gently rest it in the other’s hair. The astronaut lets out a small laugh, his eyes sparkling and a bemused expression on his face.

Thankfully he doesn't show any signs of complaining as Kokichi combs his fingers through the purple spikes and with some searching he finds the aforementioned scars on the astronaut's scalp.

“What? Those? I’ve had them for a while.” He explains with an awkward laugh. “But that’s not really important. I mean, you’ve had memories of the outside world the entire time? Why didn’t you say anything?” Kokichi huffs just a bit, his puffed out cheeks pressing against his savior’s chest.

“Like I told your girlfriend, that would paint a target on me and I. . .” His soft voice tampers off and he tries just a little harder to hide against Momota-chan’s chest. The astronaut carefully brings hand to the back of his head, playing with the long curls of black-purple hair. “I don’t want anyone to die because of me.”

“Die?” Momota-chan repeats, unable to make the connection. Kokichi sighs.

“The rule about the outside world. Sure, it says it applies to Kazehaya-chan and Harukawa-chan, but I don’t want to take that risk and endanger others.”

“Huh. . . You’re way softer than I thought you were.”

“I’m human too.” Kokichi snorts. “I just prefer to keep a distance from others and while I enjoy teasing or pranking them, that doesn't mean I _want_ to see them get hurt.”

“That means you care, right? But why keep people at arm length then?”

“Because Momota-chan, I loved my brother, but he betrayed me. If my own brother could do that, what’s stopping anyone else from doing that to me again?” He’s silent for several moments, undoubtedly trying to string together some sweet words that will make him see the error of his ways. What a pointless endeavor. 

“. . . Sure, there are some really nasty people out there not, but if you assume the worst in everyone you’ll only end up alone.”

“That doesn't sound too bad.” Kokichi replies without much thought. “At least my organization understand my pain.” Which is an honest truth. He entirely owed his escape to the three young adults, who became the founding members of DICE, for bothering to rescue him during what was already an incredibly risky escape plan and listening to his plead to find his bracer before making the escape.

From there, the four of them stuck together as they had no family or friends to return to. Living on the streets was tough and because they lacked money they couldn’t afford therapy, leading to them having to recover from their abuse and trauma on their own. Even if they had the money, it’s not like a therapist could ever understand the horrors they faced.

Akiko couldn’t look at roses without discomfort as that was a nickname Tamekichi bestowed upon her as he sexually assaulted her, training her to be a whore for his needs. Kaneyoshi was in the same boat as Akiko, tormented by memories of abuse, and increasing feelings of dysphoria about his body.

Alaois was just some poor sap form Ireland that Tamekichi happened to hear about because of his exceptional boxing skills. He offered him a place in his organization -- SKULL -- but upon declining. . . well, Alaois never explained what happened but the far off look in his eyes said enough to Kokichi. His family must have suffered the same fate as his own, and Alaois was forcibly drafted into SKULL. Tragically, ever since escaping, he lost his will to carry out a sport he loved so much once upon a time.

So, they lived on their own, trying their best to survive on the streets. . . it was going good until a food run went south. Kokichi made sure the three adults got away -- they would undoubtedly be arrested if they were caught -- but as a child with no family, he was shipped off to an orphanage; which he was a nightmare in his own right.

In truth, DICE didn't come to fruition immediately, but it was officially founded once he escaped the orphanage with Kyou and Akihiro. With a total of six people, it was decided that the newly christened organization -- dubbed DICE -- would maintain a front of street performers and under the shroud of the night they would uncover and reveal the malicious and cruel actions of powerful people in society, all while offering home and security to those who were abandoned by society at large.

At the end of the day, after all these years, it was only DICE that understood his pain. Even when he briefly opened his heart to those outside his organization. . . and, well, they’ve clearly forgotten.

“That’s a damn shame.” Momota-chan grunts as he climbs back to his feet, still cradling Kokichi to his chest. “I guess, I have to change your mind about that then.” Kokichi raises a brow, as if to question if the other was serious. However, he just flashes that stupid charming smile of his that gets him weak in his knees.

 

* * *

  

_God._

_He’s still such an asshole as before._

_How dare he steal his heart yet again._


End file.
